


Persona: Rising Tide

by RhodeZeroX



Category: Persona 2, Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series, Shin Megami Tensei Series
Genre: Canon Non-Binary Character, College, Demons, Eventual P2/3/4/5 spoilers, F/F, Female Protagonist, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Natural Disasters, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Personas are inspired by Shintoism, Trans Male Character, loss of parent, no cishet party members yay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:14:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 87,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23824414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhodeZeroX/pseuds/RhodeZeroX
Summary: Shio Kiyomizu has spent her entire life in Tokyo and wants a change, so she transfers universities and moves to Maebashi, the City of Water. Soon after her arrival, she discovers the existence of a demon-infested alternate reality that mirrors her own, and her own ability to call upon the once-dormant god stirring inside her, her Persona.She and her new friends set out to discover the nature of the Ashen Realm, the truth of the accidents happening around Maebashi, and why they have been chosen to absolve the sins of humanity.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 15
Kudos: 28





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> This is my first time uploading on AO3 so please forgive me if anything looks awkward before I get used to the site's layout.  
> Rising Tide is a major overhaul of a story I tried writing a few years ago that kinda fell apart pretty quickly, and enough ideas have come together than I'm really jazzed about this and hope others dig it too.  
> Thank you for even just clicking on the fic at all if you're curious, that means a lot! If you stick with it, hope you enjoy it!
> 
> A couple disclaimers:  
> 1\. I don't own Persona  
> 2\. I'm using the names of some real world locations and institutions for inspiration, but do not claim to accurately represent them in anyway. All characters are original except for returning ones from other Persona games, they are owned by Atlus.
> 
> 6/3: Updated the fic's warnings and gave it an M rating. We won't stray into that stuff really at all, but considering a couple scenes I thought it better to be safe than sorry.

**April 12th, 2020**

As the train lurches into movement, Shio collapses into a seat and sighs heavily with exhaustion.

_“Our estimated time of arrival at Takasaki Station is 6:47 AM. Thank you for choosing our railway, and have a pleasant day.”_

_“Great job, Shio, you chose to finally move out of Tokyo, and decided to do it at 5 AM. Wonderful choice, great job, killer move girl.”_ After a long yawn, her eyes flicker around to all the empty seats in the car: she saw others board an adjoining car, but none of them elected to follow her into this one.

Before attempting to get some shut-eye, she double-checks to see if her mom or anyone texted her; nope, still the same goodbyes from yesterday.

 _"I still really don’t see why mom especially was so emotional",_ she thinks. _"It’s barely two hours to Maebashi from home, and it’s not like I hadn’t already moved out a year ago. But I’m all she’s had for a long time now, so I guess I can kinda get it. Kinda.”_ She muses, turning her phone over in her hands.

Shio’s reflection from hell stares back at her after she powers her phone down; her eyeliner is smeared from not wiping it off last night, and her hair is atrocious. In the last day or so it somehow got a couple major knots and she didn’t get a chance to work them out before the party last night, so she wore a hat the whole time. Sighing once more, she pulls her verdant locks into a ponytail to avoid further embarrassment, promising herself to get them sorted out once she’s moved in with Aunt Akari.

The young woman sets a couple of alarms for about an hour-and-a-half later when she’ll have to change lines, and makes herself comfortable before dozing off.

* * *

Despite a lifetime of surreal dreams, nothing could have prepared Shio for this.

She’s standing in the middle of what might as well be a jungle, but beneath her feet is a stone pathway. The plants around her are thick and varied in their size and shape, from flowers to shrubbery, and a few trees. Squinting, she can make out a glass ceiling above her, just noticeable because of the light bending around it.

The thing is...aren’t greenhouses supposed to be...y’know, green?

Every plant is a dark, rich blue. Well, almost everything; some of the flowers are accentuated with bits of yellow on their petals, and at least one bush has what looks like yellow raspberries on it. Shio’s not really inclined to give them a taste.

In the distance, a piano is playing a somewhat somber song, along with a woman singing a tune to go with it. It’s haunting, but also beautiful at the same time.

There are a few branching paths along the walkway and Shio swears that she walks by that first weird raspberry bush at least twice before the path opens into a larger clearing. It’s maybe the size of a baseball field, with an ornate silver fountain in the middle that spews out water in a ‘V’ shape, before becoming mist. What really occupies her attention, though, is the individual between herself and the structure.

Sitting at a long sofa-like bench (like the kind you’d see in an elderly person’s home) is a man that defies expectations. His hands are folded together under a nose that is, quite frankly, too long. It’s absurd. The bits of his grin visible between his fingers are toothy and wide, and his dark, hairy eyebrows stretch all the way across to his heavily receding hairline, which evidently is white-gray and reaches around his head in a ring, flowing down to lay above his shoulders. His limbs are long and thin, like you could snap them like twigs, and his suit is black with a loose tie. Then, his eyes open to reveal two perfectly round orbs that look ready to burst from their sockets.

The man lowers his hands to reveal his full smile; Shio gulps.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room.” The man’s gaze seems to pierce her very being, as if he can tell from a glance he already knows anything and everything about the green-haired girl. Her mouth opens, but whatever she was going to say gets caught in her throat.

Unperturbed, the man gestures to a steel chair with a blue pillow across from him. “Please, have a seat, dear guest.” 

_“C’mon Shio, don’t let this weirdo intimidate you.”_ She takes a deep breath and crosses the small plaza towards the long-nosed man, plopping down in front of him. His grin widens at her willingness to listen. 

“My name is Igor, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance.” The more words that come out of Igor’s mouth, the more Shio finds herself...surprisingly OK with him. There’s a genuine feeling behind them, as if he is exactly what he presents himself to be; she don’t sense any malice. 

“Um...likewise, good to meet you, sir,” she gets out, managing to find her voice again. Somehow his mouth stretches even more, which seems impossible at this point. 

“This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Normally, only those who have agreed to a ‘contract’ may enter here, but it seems as though you’ve appeared in our midst a bit early. A very intriguing development, indeed.”

A larger burst of water comes out of the fountain’s jets, spraying a huge mist over the area. Shio recoils instinctively, but finds herself and Igor are perfectly dry. She notices that the humidity of the room isn’t affecting her either. Igor chuckles briefly at her reaction before gesturing around, “This place changes its shape and appearance with each of our guests, reflecting the struggles they face and the disquiet in their hearts. I must say, this is a most unusual configuration, and I am truly excited to see what fate has in store for you.” He looks like he's never seen anything more marvelous than the greenhouse before.

Her mind stalls for a bit before she gets a response out. “You called this the Velvet Room, right? It seems...weird there’s hardly any actual velvet around. It’s just blue.”

Igor again chuckles, “Yes, quite. That is why your destiny is so intriguing. We will see what is in store for you very soon.”

At the back of Shio’s head, a slight ringing begins, becoming louder and louder and her vision begins to grow white, until Igor has disappeared from view, but she can still hear his parting words, “Until we meet again, dear guest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll note spoilers to other games on the story's summary once we get to that point (which won't be for awhile).  
> I don't have any sort of upload schedule set so it might be kinda haphazard at times. I apologize!
> 
> There are some other things to mention, but I won't get into those until some more chapters are up, since some concepts will have been introduced by then.


	2. Settling In

**April 12th, 2020**

Shio jolts awake from her phone buzzing; she quickly silences it and rubs her eyes in an effort to feel somewhat awake.

_“We will be arriving at Takasaki Station in five minutes. Please collect your belongings and exit the train in a safe and orderly manner. Have a safe and pleasant day.”_

Upon arrival, it takes her about ten minutes to navigate the unfamiliar station and find the line to Maebashi, which will be a much shorter journey. The whole time, she itches to recall any details about the dream she had, but it’s all pretty fuzzy; the sum of her recollections accounts to a lot of blue and something about a nose. 

Getting off the train at Maebashi Station is both exhilarating and depressing. She feels great that she's finally arrived, but tired because she's got about a forty minute walk ahead of her, while still carrying her bag. _"You make great life choices, Shio."_

Maebashi isn’t nearly as sprawling nor populated as Tokyo, but it still seems to stretch on forever. The streets are pretty packed, with lots of people going the opposite way back towards the station on their way to work. Along the way Shio gets to marvel at the Tone River flowing through town, as well a couple of small parks.

At about 8:20 AM, she finally gets to Renga Apartments. It’s a more modern building, four stories high and built with a white stone. Shio trudges her way up to the third floor, finds room #306, and knocks.

After a few moments, there’s the sound of thudding footsteps accompanied with a “coming!” and then the door swings open to reveal her aunt.

Her dad’s younger sister has mostly been out of Shio’s entire life; even though she lives close to her and her mom: she’s kept to herself for the past decade or so. Since Shio’s dad died, really. She’s ten years older than her niece, and ten years younger than her sister-in-law, and never had anyone truly around her age when their family gatherings still happened. Shio’s pretty sure she’s never heard about her aunt ever dating, or even having a pet. All Shio knows is she’s been a nurse at the same hospital since getting out of school, and that’s worked for her.

Akari Kiyomizu is ever-so-slightly taller than Shio, with brown hair that’s a little longer than hers but with the same side-swept bangs. There are acute lines of stress around her dark eyes, and Shio can tell from the state of her that she got about as much sleep as she herself did last night. With how similar she is, down to even similar clothes (save for Akari wearing a blouse instead of a t-shirt), they could be mistaken for sisters.

“Oh hey, I didn’t expect you so soon!” Akari gives the younger woman a tired smile and extends her hand, which Shio shakes, returning a smile of her own.

“It’s good to see you again, Aunt Akari.”

She withdraws her hand and waves it back and forth, “No no please, just Akari-san is fine.” Akari stands aside, allowing Shio to give a short bow and then step inside, slipping off her sneakers and taking in her aunt’s flat.

It’s cozy-enough, with a TV, a sofa, kitchen, and two bedrooms. It’s smaller than what her and her mom have back in Tokyo, but she doesn’t mind much. 

Akari-san shows her around briefly: her bedroom consists solely of a bed, dresser, and a small desk. The things her mom shipped out a couple days ago are already in a couple boxes on the bed, ready to unpack and put...somewhere in the little amount of space she has.

Soon Shio finds herself sitting at Akari's small counter, the older woman cupping a mug of coffee in her hands, the younger downing a glass of water.

“So, since you’re an adult and all, I’m going to treat you as one. I’m pretty laid-back honestly, so you can come and go as you please as long as you keep the place clean and don’t drink all my sake, you’ll stay on my good side.” She winks and giggles a bit before sipping her coffee. “Oh, and it should go without saying, do stay out of trouble and everything. And actually go to school. If your mom finds out I’m letting you be a freeloader, she’ll chew me out, and you won’t be far behind.”

Shio chuckles a bit, setting down her empty cup. “No worries, Akari-san, I’m not that kind of girl.”

Akari takes another sip, “I didn’t think you were. I know I haven’t kept up with you or your mom since...since Daichi’s passing, but I’ve seen her post about you enough that you don’t seem like a complete stranger.” The aunt stands and heads over to the sink to wash her mug. “I’m almost always on the night shift, with usually seven days on and then a day or two off. When I’m here during work periods I’m usually asleep, so I am going to ask that you wear headphones if you listen to music or watch TV or whatever you want to do.”

“Sounds fair enough. If you need me to, I can run any errands or anything else I could help with. My schedule this semester isn’t too bad since I’ve transferred and I brought a lot of credits over, so I should be free most afternoons.”

She nods, “Yeah, that’d actually be great. Also, that reminds me, I do expect you to get a job within a couple months, once you’re acclimated to Maebashi. You don’t have to pay half of the rent, but I expect you to at least become self-sufficient. We should be fine financially barring anything, but y’know, you’re an adult and I expect you to pull some weight.”

Shio stands and bows her head. “Of course, Akari-san. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to crash for a little bit before I head over to the campus to give it a once-over.”

“Sounds good. I am off till tomorrow night, so I was thinking I’d take you out somewhere tonight. It’s a local place that I’ve been frequenting since I moved here. We can catch up on the last decade.”

Shio bids her a good morning and turns to her new bed calling her name. With the little amount of sleep she got last night, it doesn’t take long for her consciousness to drift away.

* * *

Around noon, a siren goes blaring down the street Shio’s window looks out onto, which is enough to cause her to stir. As she sits up and blinks away drowsiness, a couple more speed past, alerting the few cars on the road to clear the way. They eventually turn in the distance and are out of sight, but the sirens still echo around for a bit before they fade away.

She yawns before heading into her and Akari’s shared bathroom. The decor is pretty simplistic with green and blue tones for the shower curtain and towels. Her aunt’s got a modest amount of makeup things strewn about in a cabinet, and all of it has at least a layer of dust on it. 

“Oh, right.” Shio’s hair is still in the shape that it’s in: she thanks the stars her aunt didn’t seem to think less of her for it. After a quick trip to-and-from the bedroom, she’s got her essentials and is in the shower.

For Shio, bathing is often her time to go through the mental checklist of what she has to do that day and in the near future.

_“Well, everything is set for my transfer already...really I just have to get a good route to campus figured out, and learn the buildings. And see what they have in the way of extra curriculars...I really messed up by skipping out on track that last semester. I’ve already atrophied way too much.”_

Shio steps out from the shower to a blast of cold air and notices the mirror fogged up from the intensity of the heat she had it at. She grabs a hand towel and quickly wipes a space away on the mirror to reveal her reflection. Suddenly a shot of pain shoots through her brain, causing her to cry out and clutch her skull. As quickly as it comes it leaves and she breathes heavily, hand still holding the towel and her free one rubbing her forehead.

Footsteps, then a knock. “Shio-chan? You alright?”

The girl releases her head and began focusing on drying off, “Y-yeah, sorry, just...had a weird headache for a moment there, I’m fine. Sorry to worry you.”

“OK, if you’re dizzy from not getting enough rest, there should be something in the cabinet above the sink you can take.” 

“Thanks!” Shio calls back, now focusing on finally dealing with the mess that was her hair. A few minutes later she emerges, wearing ripped jeans, a sky-blue v-neck, and black sneakers; essentially her normal get-up. Her hair is now knot-free and loose, curling slightly at the ends where it finishes a little above her shoulders. As a finishing touch she secures her favorite locket around her neck.

Akari’s on her couch, watching a report on a fire that’s broken out somewhere downtown. Her head turns at Shio’s approach. “Did you hear those sirens? There’s been another accident.”

The younger woman tilts her head. “Another?”

Akari nods. “There’ve been a few instances of infrastructure failures recently. Sewage leaked onto a street down by the river last week, a pipe burst and flooded a high school not far from here a month ago, and now there’s a fire in an apartment complex on the other side of the city because a transformer blew out or something, they think.” She shrugs, turning her attention back to the TV. “I guess they aren't too abnormal, really. Maybe it’s just because Maebashi is normally so quiet.”

The two watch for a moment as the firefighters douse the building with a torrent of water. Smoke plumes into the sky as the newscaster relates that no one has been hurt, but that at least a dozen people have lost their homes.

Shio tears her eyes away. “Well, I’m gonna head out. I’ll be back by 6, does that sound good?”

Akari nods, switching the channel to some romantic drama. “Yep, we’ll head out right after.”

“Mkay.” Shio waves as she walks out.

* * *

The walk to Gunma University is about twenty-five minutes the first time Shio makes it, but she knows it’ll be cut down once she’s not glancing at her phone's GPS every two seconds.

GU only houses about six-thousand students, and it focuses on medical science and technology, so it’s mainly a few scattered buildings that mostly house labs, and then a couple larger lecture halls. 

Classes don’t start for two days, so the place is mostly deserted except for some clubs that are trying to recruit freshmen at late orientations or sports teams already getting in their drills: Shio passes the same team twice as they jog the entire perimeter of the school. 

Shio notes the locations of her classes and peaks into a couple buildings to get a sense of their layouts. As she passes through a community-focused student center, a table catches her eye; a lone guy is sitting at it, with a green tablecloth draped over it and a large, smiling cartoon Earth on the front. 

On getting closer, she takes note of a few fliers and a petition with the header “Keep Gunma Green!” that discusses efforts to plant more trees around campus and other plans to reduce the school's carbon footprint, with a request for students to do anything they can to contribute in their daily lives towards helping the planet.

It’s a few more moments before the guy notices her, looking up from his phone he’d been fiddling with in his lap. “Oh h-hey! I’m Inoue, a member of Gunma’s Ecological Protection Society. We’re a group focused on trying to get the school involved in supporting larger efforts to preserve the environment around the surrounding areas, and we’re advocating for the school to turn the old, unused hall on the far side of campus into either a park or a greenhouse.” Inoue lets out a breath and grins sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “H-ha, sorry, I had all that memorized and could only get it out in one breath.”

Shio chuckles, “No worries. Sounds neat though. I don’t know how much of my time I'll be able to commit yet, but I'll definitely at least sign and check in to see any events y'all are involved with.” She leans down and uses the provided pen to jot her name down.

Inoue smiles and bows his head. “That’s all we can really ask of people. If you do have any desire to attend one of our meetings, they’re held bi-weekly in this center. We have a mailing list online if you search the school’s associations.”

The green-haired girl smiles, giving Inoue a two-fingered salute before thanking him and bidding him goodbye.

* * *

Shio makes it back to Akari’s apartment a little late after spending a couple hours wandering the town, but the two get out on time all the same and walk a couple blocks to a small place tucked in-between a dingy bar and a law office. It turns out to be a fairly typical beef bowl place, though it's only got one counter that borders the kitchen, and a couple tables that are packed in tightly.

As the two enter, a couple of heads turn, including the chef behind the counter whose face breaks into a smile. “Kiyomizu-san! Come in come in, your seat’s ready and waiting for you!”

Akari laughs and gives a wave, “Hey Endo-san! Thanks!” The two women sit at the far end of the counter that terminates at the back wall, and Endo walks down to meet them. The man's built like a bear, with a thin mustache, and exudes joviality. 

“So, this must be Shio-chan!” His handshake is the warmest and firmest one Shio thinks she’s ever had. It does help that there is a fair amount of steam hovering around. “Nice to meet you. Joji Endo, proprietor and head cook of this, the finest establishment in all of Maebashi.” 

“He’s not kidding!” a patron calls from down the counter, and everyone laughs heartily. 

“Really, he’s not. I’ve been coming here every week for a long time now,” Akari smiles, shifting around to get comfortable. “This place’s beef bowls are to die for.”

Shio draws her hair back into a bouncy ponytail, “Sign me up for whatever your special is then, Endo-san, I'm here to pack it all away.”

“Ha, I like her already, Kiyomizu-san! Regular for you as well?” 

“Yes, please, you’ve kept me waiting long enough already!”

By the time Endo has placed the bowls in front of them, Shio’s stomach has rumbled twice, eliciting laughs from Akari each time.

The bowl looks like a fairly normal one you’d find at a chain restaurant, along with a garlic-based sauce on the side, but Shio can already tell there's something different about it. Digging in, Shio has to stop herself from shoveling the her second bite down her throat. “Holy-” swallow, “-shit.”

“Ah ha, another converted!” the chef declares, delighted with her reaction. 

The meal is fairly silent for a few minutes besides one of the women occasionally sighing in happiness. Eventually Akari sets down her chopsticks for a moment and wipes her face. “So, what made you transfer away from Tokyo? Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, but it’s a far cry from Tokyo.”

Her niece downs another bite, and pours a little sauce on the remainder of her meal. “Well...I didn’t feel like my old school was the right fit, exactly.” She swallows another mouthful before continuing, “My classes were certainly trying, but I didn’t feel engaged in anything besides my studies. There’s just something up in my brain that told me ‘Hey, this could be better,’ so I searched around and...the pictures of this place looked really welcoming.”

“Can’t deny that.” Akari finishes her last bite and stretches. “Ohhhhh god, that’s what I needed.”

Shio follows suit, pushing her empty bowl forward and murmuring to herself about how delicious it was. Endo-san bows them out as they leave, the two promising to be back soon. The walk back to Akari’s flat is short and uneventful, and upon arriving home Shio pours a glass of water and heads toward her room.

“I’m-” Shio yawns, “-gonna go ahead and clock out for the night. I’ll see you in the morning, Akari-san.” She bows, “Thank you again for taking care of me.”

Akari waves her hand. “Oh it’s no worry, it’s nice to have company. It’s different. Have a good night, Shio-chan.” She settles down on her couch, flipping her program back on.

Still a bit tired from last night, and now with a full belly, Shio quickly falls asleep, pleased with how her first day in her new home has gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning lots but also kinda changing things on the fly (such as changing Shio's initial Persona...which I'd already designed. But this new one makes more thematic sense so. yea.) so I might not post as often as I want to. I've got the next chapter started but barely written, so that one might be a few more days away.
> 
> The theme of this work in general is taking responsibility for your actions. Somewhat similar to Personas 2 and 3, but I'm hoping that my own approach to it and how it comes up in the plot will differentiate it enough. 
> 
> Thank you again if you're sticking around for more!


	3. The Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all wanna see a Persona?

Shio dreams she’s drowning: she’s at the bottom of the sea, with only pinpricks of light visible far above. Each passing moment makes the pressure from being so deep down that much more unbearable, and her terror grows exponentially as well. Any attempts to push off the floor and swim upward are met with intense resistance, and soon she finds herself beginning to faint. _“N-no...I refuse...to give in like this…”_

As the last vestiges of her consciousness fade, she can make out two new, red lights shimmering in the dark of the ocean nearby. They grow brighter and brighter, and at the last moment, the pressure lifts.

* * *

**April 12th, 2020**

A sheen of cold sweat covers Shio’s body when she wakes up, and she feels like she just ran a marathon. “Oh f-fuck, what the hell,” she gasps, slowly sitting up and wincing at her aching joints, nearly falling out of bed. She has to use the wall for support on the short walk to the bathroom, and it takes her a minute to get the shower going because her hands can’t stop shaking. 

It’s only after stripping and nearly slipping on the way in that she realizes the water is absolutely freezing, the inverse of how she normally takes it. “Oh come ON.”

Exasperated, she reaches for the handle to switch to something hotter, yet as she’s about to, it occurs to her; she feels...fine.

The pain is gone, and she’s no longer trembling. In fact, she feels like she just got a good night’s rest.

The whiplash is enough to send her mind reeling, and she sinks to the floor of the shower, at a loss for how her day has begun. She stares at her hands as the water pours down on her, which continues to invigorate her. Teeth chattering, she stands and quickly washes herself before vacating the shower. The girl peers into the mirror and pulls at parts of her face whilst drying herself off, looking for any signs of sickness or...anything else to explain what just occurred. Her efforts end up fruitless, and she resigns herself to getting dressed and pretending like nothing happened.

Shio spends the morning arranging her things around the flat: she leaves her stack of favorite movies on an empty space on the bookshelf near the TV, the books she’s been putting off finishing under her bed to be discovered another day, and the clothes she has (virtually all shirts and pants in various colors) in her dresser. She left most sentimental things at home with her mother, since she really is just living here while she’s at school for the next three years.

Akari’s days off seem to comprise either reading or still watching that romantic drama. The glimpses that Shio gets while passing by tell her little about the show besides the fact that everyone in it is angry and wants to get in bed with the lead. Akari is usually gripping a cushion and shaking her head at the screen, muttering things like “Don’t you dare go for him, Fujiko.” 

Around noon, Shio bids farewell to her aunt and makes her way to GU, this time without using any navigation from her phone. It takes her a bit longer than the first trip, but she eventually makes it and feels confident she can get home in a faster time. She elects to mosey around campus and find some quiet spot to listen to music and simply relax for a little while, getting one last rest in before classes tomorrow.

Her wandering eventually leads her to a more remote part of the school, sequestered off by a meandering path that leads to a two-story building surrounded by a grove of trees. It’s pretty nondescript, save for the double doors at the front having a padlock and chain on them, and the sign detailing that the building is on schedule for demolition later in the year and is off limits for all students.

“Well, guess this is the abandoned lab he mentioned,” Shio mutters thoughtfully as she walks along the building’s perimeter, dragging her fingers over the stonework. _“This actually would be a killer spot for a greenhouse...I should try and remember to look up when the group meets later.”_

Across from one side of the lab is a set of benches, which Shio begins to make her way over to before the still silence she’s been enjoying is rudely interrupted.

_CRASH._

“Ah _SHIT._ ”

Shio freezes and turns on her heel, looking back at the building. Her wide eyes dart over to the still-padlocked front door and then back to the lab at large. A second later she registers that one of the windows fairly near her is just so slightly cracked open.

Part of her tells her to walk away now; she promised her mom and Akari-san that she wouldn’t get involved in anything. It wasn’t like she had in the past, but it wouldn’t be best to start now, would it?

At the same time though...someone could be hurt. And, well, she’s curious, she has to admit. She’s been a good girl her whole life, what’s one little rule breaking gonna do?

She glances toward the path she came from, as if expecting a rush from security guards alerted to a break in. A few seconds pass, she takes a deep breath, and walks over to the window, slowly sliding it up and slipping herself inside. 

The room she finds herself in is a standard classroom, probably the only one in the building. Most of the desks have either been stacked up or are laying around haphazardly, along with the chairs. Shio coughs, a cloud of dust having gone up from her feet landing on the floor. Above her are muffled voices: she creeps across to the already-open door, peeking out into the hallway. Down at one end she can see the inside of the locked door, and the entrance to the stairwell right next to it. Her footsteps are measured as she makes her way down the hall and up the stairs, and on the second landing she can more clearly hear the voices coming from a room close by.

“I _told_ you this was a bad idea. I _told_ you-”

“Ryu, are you going to continue scolding me like you’re my dad, or are you gonna help me get these chairs stacked up again?”

A groan, “ _Fine._ ” Then there are scrapes of metal moving across tiled floor.

Shio makes her way to where the offending voices come from, discovering two individuals working on re-assembling a tower of chairs in the middle of one of the labs. She leans against the door frame with her arms crossed, watching and waiting.

The guy is half-a-head shorter than her, with slightly messy dark hair that’s a bit too long in the front and is constantly getting in his eyes. He’s got on khakis and a black-button shirt with the top button undone, worn dress shoes, and has his sleeves rolled up. One of his ears is pierced with a ring, and a black and silver watch adorns his left wrist. Shio notes that he carries himself somewhat timidly. 

His companion’s hair is brown and spills over her right shoulder in a ponytail, held in place with a white scrunchy. Her pink jacket is tied around her waist, while the cuffs of her white jeans are rolled up, and she also has on a light blue tank top. Her white sneakers scuff against the floor as she drags the chairs she knocked over to where the boy is stacking them. As she finishes putting the last one up and wiping her hands off on her jacket, she turns and takes notice of Shio. “Uh.”

The dark-haired boy whirls around and his eyes widen. “Um, uh, this isn’t, we’re-”

“Y’know,” Shio starts, uncrossing her arms and strolling into the room, hoisting herself onto the counter that would serve as the instructor’s workstation, “if you’re going to break into a place and don’t want to get caught, it’s best to not yell ‘ah SHIT’ loud enough where people outside can hear you. Just a tip.”

The girl reddens and pouts. “Pff, like you could do better.”

Shio tilts her head. “Well, I did get all the way up here without either of you hearing anything.”

The guy grins, “Ha, she got you there.”

Pink-jacket girl huffs and crosses her arms; she seems to be a pouter. “Fine fine, yes, I’m a klutz.” She pauses for a moment before eyeing Shio. “So uh, you’re not gonna rat us out, right?”

“Me? Please. For one-”she flicks out a finger, “-I came in too so that’d be shooting myself in the foot. Two-” another finger, “-I’m not a snitch. Three, uh…” she trails off, her fingers now dancing back and forth. “Uh...there’s no point?”

The boy bows deeply, “Thank you very much, miss...er…”

The green-haired girl crosses the room and thrusts her hand out. “Shio Kiyomizu. I just transferred from Tokyo, so this’ll be my sophomore year.”

The boy straightens and shakes, “Ryushi Teshima. Yuki and I here are both starting our first year tomorrow.”

Yuki’s hardened expression softens as she shakes Shio’s hand. “Yuki Saito. We’re also both locals. Though we’ve never gotten the chance to really check out this place till today, so we seized the our chance to-”

“You mean, you seized your chance and dragged me along to help,” Ryushi interjects.

“OK, fine, fine, it was all my idea and I’m the worst person in the world. Happy?” Yuki huffs again, turning away.

Ryushi smiles, “Very.”

Shio chuckles, leaning against a counter again. “So, what is the story with this place? It is out of the way, but I don’t see why else they’d get rid of it.”

“Well, there was never any real reason that they came out with” Ryushi states, “Just about a year ago, they announced they were. It’s been unused since. We haven’t really come across anything that’d show why.”

Yuki nods, “Yep, it’s quite odd. Especially since this was an old building that I think some semi-famous researcher primarily used a few decades ago. They took down any references to him when they announced the closure, but I heard they’re gonna name some new fountain or something on another campus after him.” She rolled her eyes.

“...hold on, there was that thing about the mirror in the girl’s bathroom you mentioned” Ryushi notes, snapping his fingers. 

“Oh, yeah. It’s not much, but...it’s something” She leads the two of them down the hallway and to the women’s bathroom, which has paint peeling off the walls, water stains everywhere, and rusted pipes. The state of the room in general is poorer compared to the rest of the building, as far as Shio saw.

But the mirror that runs along the wall over the sink is an exception. It looks like someone just finished polishing it, as if it hasn’t been in isolation for as long as it should have. There aren’t even any cobwebs in the corners where it touches the ceiling as opposed to every other corner Shio can spot.

“God, it’s gross in here,” Yuki murmurs, taking care to not brush against the walls. “I couldn’t find anything weird about the mirror besides it being clean. I guess it’s just a freak coincidence.”

Ryushi steps forward and touches it, sliding his fingers down. “...yeah, it seems normal.” He turns and goes to look in one of the stalls, with Yuki following and peering over his shoulder.

As their backs are turned, Shio glances at where Ryushi touched the surface, and then does a double-take: there’s a distinct lack of fingerprints or smudges of any kind, like he never made contact with it.

She looks directly forward at her own reflection, and reaches out toward it, heart lodged in her throat. Closer, and closer, and then there’s the smooth sur-

…

There’s no contact. Her hand ignores reality and pushes through where it should have touched, until half her forearm is inside the mirror. Yuki and Ryushi’s voices are white noise to her; the only thing she can hear is her heartbeat thumping wildly, and her own deep breaths.

From where her arm is, ripples come out as if the mirror was the surface of water, spreading in rings until they hit the sides, bouncing back and fading away.

“Y’know, this is what most men’s restrooms are...actually...like…” Ryushi trails off as he turns around and sees the rippling mirror.

“That, uh…” Yuki moves roboticaly over to Shio’s side. “...that’s not supposed to fucking happen.”

Ryushi follows her lead, appearing on Shio’s left. “How...how are you doing that?”

Shio was silent for a few seconds before answering, “...It’s hot over there.”

“The fuck do you mean ‘over there’?” Yuki got out, mouth agape. 

The black-haired youth reaches out and touches near where Shio’s arm cut off, and was met with cold, hard resistance. His fingers fail to press in like hers had. Even as he moved them to the very edge of her arm, he got no further. “Is it just where you’re touching, or is it you in general?”

Shio moves her arm around a fair amount and isn’t restricted in any way. She retracts her hand and tries with its twin, and was met with success again. “It’s me.”

She withdraws again, and glances at Ryushi’s hand placed near the sink. “Give me your hand a sec.”

Ryushi gulps, and offers it to her, turning a bit pink as she takes hold of his wrist and guides his arm to the mirror. This time, his flesh passes through, eliciting a sharp breath from the boy. “Holy…”

“That is kinda awesome,” Yuki whispers. 

“M-maybe we should just leave. I don’t know if I’m in the mood for freaky mirror hijinks.” 

Shio shakes her head, pulling Ryushi’s hand out (he immediately tried getting through without Shio’s help and failed once more) and hoisting herself up onto the sink counter. “...No way, I’m going in.”

“I _really_ don’t think that’s a good idea-” Ryushi starts, but Shio cuts him off.

“I _really_ don’t see a world in which I ignore the fact that my hand just went through a solid mirror, so, gonna have to disagree.” She tears her gaze away from the reflective wall to look at her two new companions, smirking. “Y’all can come with, if you please.” She extends both her hands behind her. 

Yuki immediately grins, gingerly getting up beside the other girl and taking her outstretched hand. “I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t see this.”

Ryushi clearly did not approve of this turn of events, but he sighs and follows suit, hopping up so he was to Shio’s left, and clasps her free hand. “If we die, I blame you Yuki.”

“I’ll go first, taking your hands with me. If I let go...don’t try and follow me.” Before they could object or clarify, she crosses over.

* * *

Even though the crossing was technically instantaneous, Shio perceives herself as being in a suspended limbo for a few seconds, with an intense amount of pressure as well as unidentifiable noises hitting her, until she emerges on the other side.

And on the other side, she finds...the bathroom again. Except it’s more in a state of disrepair than just being unclean, with all the urinals completely destroyed, and the stonework falling apart in various places. 

It’s also, as she felt before, pretty hot. It feels like a summer day with the sun harshly beating down, even though she’s inside. 

After taking in her surroundings, she gives a quick tug on both the hands she’s holding, and soon Yuki crosses through, then Ryushi.

“Oh gosh, you weren’t kidding, it is hot in here.” Yuki fans her face, already sweating a bit.

“This is...just the same bathroom again....” Ryushi trails off, hopping down and running his hand over the wall.

Shio gets down as well, and looks back at the mirror; it’s also pristine on this side, with no signs of decay. No cracks, nothing. But she frowns and opens her mouth. “Hang on...you both came in on the opposite sides. When I came in, Ryushi was on my left, but on this side, he was on my right. 

“Huh, you’re right. I was closer to the door before,” Yuki mentions, inspecting some of the broken pipes.

Shio puts her hand on her chin, thinking for a moment. Then without warning she marches toward the door, heading out into the hallway to see it’s in a pretty similar state to the bathroom of this side; a door is hanging off its hinges, part of ceiling is collapsed in in several places, and the entire wall separating one classroom away from the hall is caved in. She strides past these observations and heads toward the stairwell, Yuki and Ryushi hurrying out to follow her. 

“H-hey, slowdown. You’re our way back and I don’t wanna lose you,” Ryushi calls out, but Shio ignores him and continues downstairs, pushing her way out to the first floor. 

Immediately she registers that the door on her original side that had been padlocked is gone. In fact, the whole front of the entrance is a gaping maw, loose fixtures hanging from the ceiling like misshapen teeth. It’s kinda hard for Shio to focus on that though, once she looks outside.

She stops herself at the front steps, standing among the rubble of the entrance. The two freshmen catch up to her and stand on her either side, eyes wide and jaws dropped. 

The sky is red. An impossible red, bright and menacing, coloring the world below it. The landscape is fairly barren, with most of the grove of trees either completely burned up or standing still as charred skeletons of their former selves. 

Perhaps most noticeably, though, is the ash.

It’s everywhere, floating through the air and covering the ground enough that a single step sends up a cloud of it. There are dark clouds in the sky that Shio presumes are made from ash as well. Curiously, though, the flakes of it that hit her clothes don’t stick; they fade away. She reaches down and grabs a handful of it, and upon clenching her hand and letting it fall away finds that it doesn’t leave a mark. 

“This is...what the fuck is this…” Yuki steps down onto the stone pathway, “Is this...GU?”

Ryushi picks up a large plaque off the ground, brushing the ash off of it, reading “Kanzato Laboratory, established 1984.” He looks up. “This is definitely the name I remember of that researcher who worked here a long time ago. But they took down all the references to him last year.”

Shio scratches the back of her neck, staring out across the ruined world. In the distance, beyond the trees, she can make out where some of the other campus buildings should be. She turns to her cohorts, “OK, I say we go check out the main part of campus, and then bail. For now at least. Sounds good?”

Yuki nods, putting a fist into her palm. “Yep. This place is too freaky to not at least try and see a bit more.”

“Alright, but, now if we die somehow, I blame you, mystery mirror girl,” Ryushi states, smiling despite himself.

Yuki punches his arm lightly, “Hey, she’s technically our senpai. So...well actually, if we die, I’m blaming her too.”

“If we die, I blame whatever mystic bullshit we’re experiencing, but blaming me is fair enough.” She sets off down the pathway at a brisk pace, the other two trailing behind her.

Outside, the heat is pretty much the same; still aggravatingly hot. The sun is absent from the sky, and there’s no other discernible light source anywhere, but it’s still bright out all the same. Shadows draw away from their hosts everywhere, back in the direction of the Kanzato Lab.

In about ten minutes they arrive at the middle of the school, a plaza with a dilapidated fountain in the center and a few buildings surrounding it. They’re also in various states of disrepair; one of them has an entire corner that looks like it was taken out in an explosion, the debris scattered around on the ground nearby.

The grass is yellowed, dead, and charred in large patches. On the way over they didn’t catch any signs of life from anywhere, and were also met with complete silence.

“Well, it’s the same here as it is everywhere,” Ryushi says, gesturing around. “Can we go home now?”

Shio sighs. “Yeah, I guess...I really...I dunno, I had this feeling-”

She stops, holding her hand up and putting a finger to her lips: from the exploded corner building, she hears...something. It takes her a few seconds, but then she realizes it’s...cackling.

From the hole emerges three different...monsters, is the only definition that Shio can think of. One’s a fairy-like creature with blue butterfly wings, a wavy red hair-cut, and an outfit consisting of a dark blue set of gloves and thigh-high leggings with a leotard. Accompanying her is what is undeniably a jack-o-lantern with a wizard’s hat, a billowing cloak, and a small lantern in a gloved hand. Finally, there’s a purple horse with white legs, a flowing white mane and tail, piercing red eyes, and large, curved green horns that look like they belong to a mountain goat.

“Hee-hee, I bet the boss’ll be happy with us for this one, ho” the jack-o-lantern laughs, swinging his lantern. 

The horned horse snorts, “He better be, we worked our butts off today fer him.”

The fairy looks bored with her situation, but then notices the trio of humans staring at them from across the plaza. 

“Guys,” Shio whispers, starting to back up, “I think...we should leave.”

The others don’t even bother acknowledging, simply turning and bolting back the way they came, only to find the fairy has quickly closed the distance and now blocks their path.

“Now just _where_ do you all think you’re going?” Her words aren’t malicious so much as teasing, but Shio still feels a chill go up her spine.

“Oh ho ho ho!” The jack-o-lantern and horse are now behind them, cutting off their potential escape routes. “I haven’t seen humans in years! Decades! The boss’ll be _really_ happy with us for this one, hee-ho!”

Neighing, the horse scrapes his hoof on the ground. “We don’t get enough action anymore. I’m looking forward to this.”

“OK,” Shio lowers her voice, the three of them now back to back, trying to distances themselves as much as they can from the trio, “I’m gonna-”

“You’re gonna what?” The fairy interrupts, darting over in front of Shio’s face and putting her chin in her palm, wings beating furiously. “You _really_ wanna try something? It’d be better to just accept defeat easily, y’know? If we have to get messy, we can-oh hey, no no no!” She darts over again to float in the way straight back to the lab, stopping Yuki who’d tried making a break for it.”

“Shit shit shit,” the brunette mutters, cowering back again. “The fuck are you things?”

The fairy tilts her head inquisitively. “You haven’t ever seen a demon before? How is that possible?” She shakes her head. “Well, whatever, still gotta take you in. Sorry, but if our boss found out we let the first humans in ages go...well, I don’t think we’d get to stick around on this plane.”

Ryushi has sunken down to the ground, sitting with his head buried in his legs and arms wrapped around them as well, breathing fast and shallow. “Please let this be a dream. Please please please…”

Shio grits her teeth. _“Shit...I can’t...I can’t let them die...this is my fault…I have to do_ something _.”_

“Enough stalling.” The horse again scuffs his hoof, and then charges, lowering his head. The green-haired youth braces, shutting her eyes and putting her arms up defensively, waiting for impact.

**_“Is this where you give up?”_ **

The horse is a few feet away when it stops, skidding to a halt and backing up once it corrects its momentum. Shio peeks an eye open to see all three demons have converged next to each other, and are giving her looks of incredulity. The jack-o-lantern hisses. “Who’s there, hee-ho?”

Pain shoots through Shio’s skull, and she grabs at her head, grimacing, crying out in pain.

A booming feminine voice echoes across the landscape, but to Shio it sounds like it’s coming from inside her own head. **_“You have accepted your responsibility for your own actions, have you not?”_ **

_“What…? Yes...I...I have!”_ She thinks in between gasps of pain, the pressure getting worse and worse. In the sky, dark clouds begin to coalesce above the plaza, blotting out the red sky overhead. Ryushi and Yuki, who have taken the opportunity to retreat a few feet back from Shio to put some distance between them and the demons, watch with terror.

**_“This world will fall to ruin if you do not act. Are you willing to commit to absolving not only your own sins, but those of the ignorant masses?”_ **

“I...AM…!” She can barely think now, the pain mounting and now coursing through her body. Around the plaza, columns of water jet out from the ground, and a torrential rain begins to come down, soaking everyone. Shio throws her head back, letting out a final scream before her hands fall limply by her sides.

**_“Then our oath is set. We are now resolved to fight against those who would see to the end of all things.”_ **

The water columns surge upwards to the clouds, growing larger, as a circle of blue fire appears on the ground around Shio. Her head tilts forward until it hangs downward, wet bangs falling in front of her eyes, and her fists clench. A few moments pass before she looks up.

Shio smirks, her eyes burning blue. 

The fire, unperturbed by the rain, also shoots up, until it’s a volley of energy encompassing the girl, strong enough to become a harsh wind that sends her wet hair flying around. The fairy and jack-o-lantern are now huddling together, appearing as scared as Yuki and Ryushi are.

The energy comes together, until the shape of a large being forms above Shio.

**_“Thou art I, and I am thou.”_ **

Fuzzy at first, it reveals itself: A woman, at least twelve feet tall, with dark, tanned skin, wearing a set of white armor that covers from her neck to her waist, with the shoulders bare. Running from her left hand to her shoulder is a long tattoo of a blue and white dragon, and the opposite side has a tattoo of a raging river that mimics the way the dragon flows up her arm. Her hair is a sky-blue color and would reach her shoulders, but instead it tends to float around and wave as if it were underwater. Her eyes shine a deeper red than the sky.

Strapped to her arms are two thin white metal devices, and on her back is a bow encrusted with various aquatic items, including shells and seaweed. Either end of the bow has the curled end of a seahorse’s tail. Her legs are covered in light blue and white armor with chain mail, similar to ancient warlords, and her boots are of a similar make.

**_“I commandeth the sea of thy own soul. Without my water, all life would be lost...I am the Ocean’s Guardian, Suijin!”_ **

Suijin readies her arms in front of her, and the two devices she’s wearing unlock and extend into two long, bone-white blades. The water spouts all of a sudden cease to spiral upward, and instead collapse only to flood the area, though the rain continues to fall just as hard.

The two floating demons back up a bit, but the horse whinnies in frustration. “Heh, cheap tricks aren’t going to fool me.” He takes a running charge at Shio, who jerks her head slightly, and Suijin leaps into action, throwing herself between the horse and girl, one of her blades jutting forward and tearing the monster in two. There’s a sharp, guttural cry from the demon, and the corpse melts into darkness and fades away.

“N-no way, ho,” the jack-o-lantern whimpers, watching his comrade fall.

Shio’s eyes dart toward the living Halloween decoration, her smirk fading. “ _WHAT_ did you call me?”

His expression somehow becomes terrified as he quivers, “W-what? N-no, I didn’t mean it like that, hee-ho-” Suijin ignores his explanation, straightening up and retracting her blades, only to remove her bow from her back and take aim, an arrow forming from the rainwater. The tiny pumpkin turns and tries to flee, but the water goddess’s aim is true and strikes him in the back, and he too fades away, leaving only the fairy.

Still visibly frightened, she attempts to put on a brave face and brings her hands up, electricity forming between them. “T-take this! Zio!” The lightning flicks out and strikes Suijin, who recoils whilst Shio grits her teeth and flinches, clutching her chest. She brings her hand up and pushes away her wet locks from her eyes, which glow more intensely.

“...you shouldn’t have done that.”

The fairy squeaks and tries to retreat. “Suijin. Aqua.” The being complies, throwing her hand out and launching a stream of water at the floating girl, whose reaction is far too slow to dodge, and meets the same fate as her fellow demons, evaporating and leaving no trace behind.

The clouds above begin to break up, and with their leave the rain stops, letting the red sky beat down once again. Suijin bows her head and fades away with the same blue energy she appeared with while her other self watches. “...Persona, huh?” 

Shio turns to look at Ryushi and Yuki, who both look a combination of amazed, scared, and flabbergasted. Exhaustion suddenly overwhelms her as she gives a weak thumbs up to them, her eyes’ glow fading away to reveal their normal dark state.

“...I think we’re good, guys.”

She sinks to her knees, and then passes out before her head hits the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I'm really sorry about the ho joke. Once I thought about it...it was too good to pass up.
> 
> A really important thing for me is sharing music that I listen to while writing. Some of it is gonna act as themes for various people, places, and events in the series. A fair amount will be Persona/MegaTen music, or stuff that's...pretty much Persona music.  
> Here's what I have for Shio's Awakening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQjcGFoN6tk  
> I might go back and update these later on though, if I come across something I think fits better.
> 
> Also, here's what the main theme of Rising Tide is; this was also the theme of the original version, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZEUBxOay4k
> 
> I like the idea of using demon forms way more because they actually have personality, as opposed to 3 and 4's shadows, which...eh. I don't love.  
> I will say that the use of the term "demon" will be explained in the future. I just don't like calling a Pixie a shadow, y'know?


	4. A Journey Begins

**April 13th, 2020**

“I still think that was really cool.”

“It was! But we nearly died! Also we’re being very cavalier about the fact that we went into some other reality, watched a girl have some god come out of her, _and_ saw literal demons! I think I’m right to be a little freaked out.”

The voices were a bit indistinct to Shio as she became conscious. “Ngh,” she groans, lifting her head up, hair plastered to her skull from still being positively drenched. She's sitting against the wall in the hallway of the Kanzato Lab, though it was immediately apparent that this was the one back in her world.

Ryushi and Yuki are sitting next to each other on the opposite side of the corridor, whispering to each other. Ryushi noticed her moving first, and immediately broke off what he was saying and came over to her.

“Hey, uh, you okay?” He crouches down to a squat to be at her level. When Shio looks over, she takes in that his eyes are full of concern, but there's some lingering hesitation, as if Suijin was about to bust out again that very moment.

“Y-yeah,” she winces, feeling a twinge of pain on her forehead; her fingers find a bandage applied at the spot in question.

“We managed to find an old first-aid kit in one of the labs, so we took care of the cut you got from hitting your head. It was unfortunate, your head kinda hit the stone just right...I think you’ll be OK, but it was a nasty cut. And we couldn’t treat it for like, 20 minutes since we were dragging your ass back here. You’re welcome, by the way,” Yuki smiles genuinely.

“Oh, yeah. That was fun. The best part was hauling you upstairs, and testing us walking through the mirror again while carrying you. It worked, but it felt incredibly stupid.”

The three laugh together for a moment. Shio had known them for all of an hour or so now, yet she felt some sort of special kinship. The kind you can only have when you nearly die together.

There’s a moment of silence before Yuki speaks up, “OK, now, you have to tell us; what the hell was that back there? What was any of that? It was you that got us over there, you that summoned that...thing. Did you...was that the first time?”

Shio nods, gazing at her fingers, remembering the power she’d felt when Suijin called to her; it was unlike anything else she’d experienced in her life. “No, the mirror thing, that was entirely new. I’ve touched them plenty of times before, and never had that happen. As for the Persona-”

Ryushi interrupted, “That’s what it’s called, a Persona?”

The green-haired girl closes her eyes, searching the back of her head, “Yes...that’s what she told me…”

Yuki raises an eyebrow, “Hold on, she’s...still there? Talking to you?”

 _“You have accepted a bond that means we are now tied together, bound by oath. I will be with you till such an oath is fulfilled,”_ Suijin’s voice whispers into her mind, full of conviction.

“Uh...yeah, she’s in here. That’s gonna take getting used to.”

“Wow...you really are something, Shio-senpai,” Yuki whispers in awe, sitting back against the wall again. “Although...despite everything, we never found an explanation over there. I mean, sure, demons exist, but if you’re the only one who can get through there-”

“We don’t have any proof that that’s the case. We don’t even know what that place is: It had the same layout as the campus, so there’s gotta be some connection, right? There’s no way it’s a coincidence.” Shio gets to her feet, her wet shoes squeaking on the floor.

“Regardless, we don’t know enough to make any definitive conclusions. It’d require more exploration there, and I think it’s safe to say that there are more demons that are stronger than those three we encountered,” Ryushi states, leaning against the wall. 

“I mean...I’m down for that.” Shio smirks again. “I’ve got Suijin, I can protect us. Plus,” her face grows serious, and she looks at the floor, “I feel like...I have to. Besides just curiosity...Suijin says we’re ‘bound by oath,’ and I think I have to honor that. Not just because I said I would, but because it feels right.” She clenches her fists, and then looks both of them in the eye, “I’m going to go back.”

Yuki doesn’t miss a beat. “I’m down.”

The two look at Ryushi, who produces a small grin, “I have to agree. It is quite worrying, but there’s a certain draw that makes me want to see more.”

“It’s decided then. I guess we can figure out some sort of schedule later, to go in when we’re all out of class and have nothing else going on.” Shio finishes by pulling out her phone, and passing it around for the two to add themselves to her contacts.

“By the way,” Ryushi asks as he types, “what should we call the other Maebashi? I feel like that’s something we gotta do. Especially if we end up discussing it around others.”

Shio ponders for a moment, “How about the ‘Ashen Realm?’ AR for short.”

"Mm, yeah, I can go for that," Yuki agreed. 

"Same."

The trio head out, united in their determination to discover the truth of the Ashen Realm.

* * *

Shio's extremely grateful for the fact that it started raining on her way home, as it meant not having to have an excuse for her aunt as to why she’d been drenched to the bone. She spent about five minutes under the entrance to the apartment building squeezing any water she could out of her clothes and hair, so that when she stepped inside the flat she was mostly just very damp and cold instead of being a living puddle. 

Akari’s absence from the TV all but meant she was in her bedroom, so Shio tries to be silent as she makes her way to her room, grabs some dry sleepwear, and trudges to the bathroom.

She makes doubly-sure the shower was hot before stepping in, and sighs deeply as the warm water washes over her.

Still somewhat debilitated, she slides down until she's sitting in the shower for the second time that day. Her skin burns as she mulls over the day’s events. “So...you’re still there, right?”

 _“I am. I exist as your other self, and will be called to arms when you so chose,”_ the Persona calmly says. _“I am not an intrusive god, and will leave you be in matters that do not concern our oath.”_

As she cleans herself, Shio asks “What does our oath concern exactly? I know that you mentioned something about my sins, and others’, but what are they exactly? It’s just so vague, and I have no idea what that has to do with the Ashen Realm.”

 _“Those are answers you and I will discover together. The oath we have made is central to our union, in your own belief in who you are. You will be faced with difficult situations, and your ability to overcome them will determine how your power and mine grows.”_ Shio can feel Suijin smile, _“You are special, you just may be able to do this.”_

The girl chuckles, “Well, if a god believes in me, I guess I can believe in myself.”

After wrapping a towel around herself, the mirror in the room catches Shio’s eye: she has to try here. She finds that her hand passes through just as easily here as the one at the lab. Before she can stop herself, she secures a seating position on the sink and thrusts her head through.

After the quick transition, her head pokes out into the AR: the bathroom of the other side is falling apart even more than the lab’s was, with the entire shower wall gone and open into the street, and the toilet missing as well. The really alarming part is noticing a giant demon in the road below.

A floating yellow coffin makes its way down the street, cracked open to let a clammy-looking, purple arm swipe at the air. Shio gulps and retreats back before she dares let it notice her.

Crossing over twice in quick succession does a number on her stability, and on her return Shio nearly slides off the sink, managing to hang on to the sides of the cabinet to another reality.

 _“Alright...probably not safe to do it anywhere but the lab for now,”_ she thinks as she gets dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants.

After retiring to her room, she spends some time making sure she has everything ready for tomorrow: a couple notebooks for note-taking, plenty of writing implements, her tablet and keyboard (with all her textbooks downloaded), plus a couple binders with tabs to organize anything she gets during the day. For good measure, she also throws in one of the yellowing novels stashed under her bed.

She’s in a bit of a weird spot, as a lot of the credits she’s transferring over are more specific thanks to her going straight into her major at her old school, and while they apply to the degrees she wants to pursue at Gunma University, she’s missing some of the more general breadth requirements. As a result, she decided to go for those classes now while she’s adjusting.

Around seven, Akari knocks on her door, “Hey, I made some dinner.”

Dinner turned out to be curry, which Shio was more than happy with.

“Oh, right,” Akari mentions while she eats, fishing out a key from her pocket and passing it over, “For when I’m inevitably not home during the day at some point.”

Shio accepts it. “Thanks. Do you uh, need me to do anything this week for you?”

Her aunt shakes her head, “No, we should be fine. I stocked the pantry and stuff enough for a few days.” Shio finishes her plate and scrubs it, and follows up by doing so for her aunt as well. 

Akari naps for a couple hours after dinner before she heads out to work, bidding Shio a good night. 

Shio flips through a couple channels on TV for about half-an-hour before shutting it off, tossing the remote on the sofa. As she turns to head to bed, her reflection on the screen catches her eye. The young woman blinks at herself and strides over to the set, crouching in front of it. 

“...A reflection...of the world…” Her heart rate increases as her hand moves toward the screen, beating louder and louder until her fingers touch the surface.

…

Nothing. She drums her fingers softly on it. _“I guess it has to exist in the AR to work.”_

She shuffles off to get some sleep.

* * *

The soft piano music hit Shio first, calm and measured in its delivery. Then, the quiet splashing of the fountain’s water. Her eyes blink open, and she flutters them a couple more times to clear her vision.

She's in the Velvet Room again, seated by the fountain, and Igor looks positively elated at her appearance.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” he said, folding his hands together. “Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world.”

Her memories of her first visit flood back to her. “H-hello again,” she bows her head, still not sure how formal to be with the long-nosed man.

“Since your last visit, you have finally awakened to the power that’s slept inside you. One of the most ancient gods, Suijin, answered your call. And so brilliantly as well. I am quite excited to see where your journey takes you.”

“So, the destiny you talked about last time...it’s related to what happened over there? In the Ashen Realm?” Shio questions, trying to fit the pieces together in her head. “Is that why I feel compelled to continue going there?”

Igor’s large grin spreads further ( _“I’m going to have to remember how many times he does that…”_ ) as he spoke, “Yes, undoubtedly. You faced an adverse situation, and awakened to your power, your Persona. It is another side of yourself, that presents itself when confronted with hardships. I will be here to serve as your guide on this destiny. As will my assistance, Agatha.” He gestured to his left.

The green-haired young woman slightly flinches from realizing she's been ignoring another presence in the plaza; a girl a coupled years younger than her was sitting on the edge of the fountain, smiling brightly at her. She's wearing a dark blue gardening apron over a sunny yellow collared shirt, pants that matched the apron, lemon-colored boots, and a tool belt around her waist that included a large, thick indigo book with a golden ‘V’ clasped to her side. Her hair's a platinum blonde that reached down her back in a long braid, and her eyes are a striking golden-yellow. A sunflower hair clip sat near her right ear.

Agatha waves, “Hiya! Nice to meet you!”

Shio waves back tepidly, ‘H-hey.”

“There are other residents of this room for you to meet as well, but that will have to happen another time. The next time we see each other, you will come here of your own accord.” Agatha stands and walks over to her, extending her hand and offering a shining azure key. Shio takes it gingerly and turns it over in her hand.

“That will allow you back into our Room once you are presented with the opportunity to do so.” 

Shio pockets the key, feeling it clink against the one Akari had given her, and looks back at Igor. “I think I understand all this. I think, anyway.”

Agatha speaks as she sat back down at the fountain,“Your journey will be unclear at first, but as you proceed you will be met with clear obstacles and objectives, and will be free to act upon them however you choose. It is your journey, after all.” Her cheeriness was off-putting but also a bit infectious, Shio felt, now having a small smile herself.

Igor nods, “Whether you reach an outcome that is satisfying or not is up to you.”

The young woman closes her eyes and takes a breath for a moment before speaking, “OK. I’ll do my best.”

Igor bows his head, “I am delighted to hear that, my dear guest. I look forward to our next meeting. Until then, farewell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile since I've written this much, especially fiction and not critical analysis stuff, so I'm getting back into the swing of things and hopefully there'll be less random errors as we move on.
> 
> Had to put in that TV thing there early. In my headcanon, the TV World is only accessible in the area around Inaba. Otherwise, other Persona users would probably have found it. I assume it still exists after P4, anyway.
> 
> Once we get into the *routine* of the series I'll be having chapters that take place over longer periods of time; it will not be this slow-going forever, thankfully. 
> 
> I'm still considering a couple things Social Link wise; I'm going to do them, but I'm not sure about if I'm doing all 21 or not. They will be modified from the normal way for sure, because having ten events written for everyone is quite a lot. We'll see.
> 
> Thank you again for reading!


	5. Death Comes

**April 14th, 2020**

The next morning sees Shio up at 6:30 AM to get ready for her first lecture of the day at 8. By 7:30 she’s showered, scarfed down a meal, and triple-checked that she’s ready for everything. As she exits the building, a tired Akari in scrubs passes by her.

Her aunt smiles a bit ruefully at her, “Hey, good luck today. I’m gonna-” she yawns deeply as she put her hand on the door, “-go sleep. We can figure out dinner tonight. See ya.” Shio thanks her and waves goodbye before setting off towards GU.

Shio’s opening lecture is in a fairly large hall of about one-hundred people in a theater setting. The professor is a tenured guy with a slightly bushy gray-white mustache and a heavily receding hairline. His speech patterns verge on being robotic as he drones on and on, but thankfully he’s just reading from a powerpoint so Shio’s able to get it all done pretty easily.  _ “Thank god I’m not in this dude’s department,” _ she thinks as she takes down a bit about the Jōmon period: It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy history, it was that her experiences with history teachers had been fairly lackluster over the years. Mustache man was the final nail in the coffin.

The math class she had afterwards was a real breeze considering it was two levels lower than what she’d already done the previous semester, but for some reason it was required here. She finishes the introduction problems ten minutes before everyone else, and spends the rest of class conversing with the god in her mind (thankfully, doable without speaking aloud).

_ “So, if you’re an ancient being, why do you have some modern sensibilities about you?” _

_ “Personas are reflections of their other selves. I myself come from the sea of souls, the well of humanity’s consciousness, but my appearance relates to you. If by some chance another were to have myself as their other face, I may appear different to them.” _

Shio frowns, twisting a pencil in her fingers,  _ “Hang on, another? Like, someone else could have you? What would that do to...you? Or me?” _

Suijin seems amused while relaying her response,  _ “The likelihood of that happening is nearly impossible. Theoretically, yes, as there are a great number of people in this world’s history and two persons might be similar enough to share an alternate mask, but their existing at the same time as well as both being Persona users is unthinkable without the undue influence of a third party affecting their growth.” _

_ “Huh...OK, interesting.” _

_ “I have never been summoned as another self; you are the first I have made the oath with. Do not fret over the possibility of losing me; even if you cannot hear my voice, I will always be with you. Our bond is too great to so easily crumble.” _

The professor for the class stops by Shio’s desk at that moment, glancing around at everyone else still in the middle of their work, and picks up the handout she’d given to everyone. Her eyes skim through the Persona user’s work and she nods approvingly, putting it back down giving her a smile of encouragement, which Shio returns.

* * *

The math lesson letting out a little before noon means Shio has an hour to kill before her next class, so she grabs a quick bite to eat, sits down at a bench on one of the thoroughfares of campus, and fires off a text to her two freshmen friends.

**Shio:** Hello.

Yuki’s pretty immediate with her response.

**Yuki:** Hey! What’s up?

**Shio:** Nm. Sitting on a bench waiting for my last class to start. 

**Ryushi:** Saaaame. College is weird. 

**Shio:** lol. So, when is good for you two?

**Yuki:** Pretty sure I’ll be ok on any days except Wednesday for the foreseeable future.

**Ryushi:** Tuesdays and Wednesdays for me. 

**Shio:** So we wanna do this on Thursday then? Like around 3?

**Yuki:** hell yes

**Ryushi:** sounds good.

**Shio:** sweet. I’ll let you both know if anything changes. 

She still has about thirty minutes before she has to be at her lecture, so Shio elects to pull out the novel she brought and spends the time engrossing herself in its tale.

* * *

Shio was a smart cookie and had spent her whole academic career with great honors, but succeeding in essentially any fine arts class besides writing had proved to be her sore point. She could certainly pass, but she found it a bit hard to really grasp what her art history teacher was talking about in her opening statements. Sighing, she does her best to take notes, thanking the gods this would be the last fine-arts thing she’d take in her life: Suijin laughs in her head at this notion.

Before leaving campus for the day, Shio stops by the main student community center she’d been in before and peruses a couple of the bulletin boards for any activities to get involved with. The main thing that catches her eye is a listing that there were try-outs for the swim team late in the day on Friday. It would be pretty different from her time on the track team, but she felt like trying something new. She snaps a photo of the swim flyer as well as one for the Ecological Protection Society that Inoue had mentioned; it detailed that the bi-weekly meetings were on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings. 

“I guess I’ll try for Saturday maybe,” she murmurs before pocketing her phone and adjusting her bag’s shoulder strap. 

* * *

The math homework turned out to be even more of a joke for her to finish than the classwork, and all that was left after it was to read the chapters that pertained to what her classes had already covered that day. 

“Hey Suijin, are you able to, er, appear here? In the normal world?” Shio asks as she closes her ebook and puts her hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling from her bed.

The Persona pauses,  _ “If you were faced with a great danger, yes. This world is much less attuned to the human consciousness than that of the ashen one. Possible, but I do not think it is advisable given the customs of your reality.” _

“Fair enough.”

With the rest of her day free, Shio relaxes for half an hour before sitting up and planning the next expedition into the AR.

“Well, we shouldn’t go too far again...but we need to get a better sense of what that place is, so maybe at least combing most of the campus for an hour or two before heading home should be good.” Shio pulls up a map of the school and estimates the ground they can cover. After a few minutes she realizes the idea of planning might be fruitless with no knowledge of how many demons they would encounter. They might have been lucky the first time around, and this time meet heavy resistance as soon as they leave the lab.

The young woman gives up and spends the rest of the night reading until dinner, and then passes time with her aunt until she leaves for the hospital.

* * *

**April 15th, 2020**

A fair breeze blows through town as Shio heads to her Wednesday class, causing her grass-green hair to whip around a little bit.

Class one of the day is a standard writing course which doesn’t end up being  _ too _ bad. Afterwards, though, is her actual medical science course, what she’s been looking forward to since she finished up last semester.

While the girl still isn’t quite sure where she’s going to go in the field, she does find the subject much more engaging than anything else she’s taken. It is an intro course instead of the second-level ones she managed to get into last year, but she’s willing to take them for now to get into the more complex stuff sooner.

The material is essentially the same as everything she’s covered before, but there’ll be more hands-on sessions and essays this time around, which she’s more than happy to hear. A retread, sure, but a good way to refresh herself and reinforce the information into her brain.

By the end of her lab session (and thus her school day), Shio was feeling intellectually stimulated, though ravaged with hunger. She scours the area around campus for a food stand before coming across a small yakitori cart. Her purchase ends up going down a bit too fast, as she finds her mouth was now a bit too hot and her stomach a bit uncomfortable, and she had to find a water fountain to alleviate her ailments.

She muses on how much more powerful she feels anytime she’s in contact with water now; running home in the rain yesterday, she never felt out of breath, and the showers she’d taken had immediately left her feeling alert and ready.

_ “So...is this going to be how it is anytime I’m touching water now? _ ” Shio brings up as she walks home with a spring in her step.

_ “It is my domain; you and I share a great bond. As you lend me your form, I lend you my strength,” _ Suijin states.  _ “Although, this does not mean you are invincible; even underwater, a fatal wound would kill you. But you’d continue to fight at full strength until the last drop of life left you.” _

_ “Gee, thanks, that’s not a disturbing image at all,” _ Shio remarks.

* * *

Shio opens the fridge, her eyes searching the shelves for what her aunt had in stock. After perusing the cold goods as well as what was in the pantry, she settles on attempting to make omelette rice. She’s done it in the past, though the last attempt was a few months ago, and she’d flubbed on making it as tasty as it could be. 

Akari comes out of her bedroom around 7 to find her niece putting the finishing touches on her dishes. They didn’t look bad, though one was a little burnt on one edge.

“I uh...well, I tried,” Shio grins sheepishly, pushing the non-burnt plate over to one of the counter spots along with a couple different sauces.

“Aww, that’s sweet of you. I’m sure it’s fine,” the brunette said as she affixes herself to the corresponding seat and pours a little hot sauce on her omelette. She chews on her first bite for a moment before swallowing. “Hey, not bad.”

“Really? Tell my mom that, she still rags on me for the first time I tried making them. It...wasn’t pretty.”

Akari cuts another piece off with her fork and laughs, “Ha, I’ll be sure to. So, how are classes going?”

“They’re alright. A couple are kinda below where I’m at, but soon enough I’ll be able to take the advanced ones without redoing the middle-grade stuff I already went through,” she spoke as she stored the leftover ingredients, and then sits next to her aunt and dug in herself, “...oh, yea, this isn’t bad. Sweet.”

“Have more confidence in yourself. If I remember one thing about being around your mom, it’s that she’s magic in the kitchen.”

Shio takes a bite, “You’re not wrong, but I don’t think that really rubbed off on me. She’s-she’s always said I was more like dad.”

“Yeah...yeah, she’s right.” Akari stops speaking much after that. Once they’re finished eating, Shio cleans up while her aunt retreats to her bed to get a quick nap in before work.

Back in her own domain, Shio lays on her bed, fingers caressing the locket around her neck. She unclasps it from her neck, rolls on her side, and clicks it open.

Daichi Kiyomizu’s death had been a traumatic experience for basically everyone he’d kept close over the years. While he’d only been a council member of one of Tokyo’s many wards for a couple years, in his short tenure he’d fought for improved living conditions for the less fortunate and had introduced policies that were later considered for other wards as well as his own. His death meant some of his efforts were shunted aside, to never be considered again.

The locket’s picture shows him with a young Shio, the two sitting on the steps of a shrine, beaming at the camera. The man’s hair was darker than midnight and combed back, and he wore a simple t-shirt and black pants; he took every opportunity to dress casual when he wasn’t working. It was the one thing about the job he hated, he always said.

The nine-year old Shio wore a light blue dress and sandals, along with a fresh haircut that left her then-lighter green hair in a distinctly boyish shape. Her parents had been pretty supportive of her trying new things with herself as a kid, and the haircut had stuck around till midway through high school when she finally grew it out again.

Her dad had committed himself to his position, but was still always there when his daughter needed him, always there to hang out or do anything for her. It had taken a long time for her to adjust to the gaping void in her life, but she did eventually along with her mother, though they hardly ever spoke about him. 

Shio stares at the memory for a minute or two before closing it away, fastening it back on her neck yet still running her fingers over it absentmindedly.

It takes her a little longer than normal to get to sleep that night.

* * *

**April 16th, 2020**

Shio heads over to the Kanzato Lab around 2:45, bracing herself for the expedition. As she approaches the abandoned facility, she becomes aware of something very new yet familiar.

Off to the side, near a bench, sat a shimmering blue ornate door. Most of the same rich color seemed to be seeping from it, and as Shio cautiously approaches it she feels the key in her pocket beginning to vibrate in response. She inserts it and swings the door open, and upon stepping through is met with white light.

* * *

Igor and Agatha are in their places, looking as chipper as ever. “Welcome to the Velvet Room. I see you have finally entered our Room of your own accord.” Igor nods as he speaks, pleased. Agatha waves from behind him.

Igor looks at Shio, “Now that you are not here in your dreams, you may acquaint yourself with the rest of our small domain. You’ll find that there are other residents of this place for you to encounter.”

Agatha jumps up from her perch and hurries over, grabbing the other girl’s hand and pulling her toward one of the paths that led away from her master. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“W-whoa, slow down,” she gets out, having to jog to keep up so she doesn't stumble. The gardener takes her through some twists and turns that Shio desperately tries to keep straight in her head, until they come across a large white gazebo near the corner of the Room.

In the middle of the structure is an indigo grand piano where a blindfolded man is tapping away at the keys, His eye cover is a rich blue, and he’s wearing a black blazer over a white shirt that has its collar popped. A single strand of his combed back dark hair was out of place, falling over his forehead. He turns at their approach, smiling. 

“Welcome, it only took you ten minutes to find me. Hopefully you fare better in the future.” His hands never stop moving, even as he turns his head away from the ivory keys. “I am Nameless, a resident of this Room.” He bows his head.

Shio stands on the steps up to the gazebo, Agatha still tightly holding her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Shio.” She glances at his hands, “You’re pretty damn fantastic at playing.”

Nameless gives her a wry smile, “I would hope so. I have been playing for 95,000 days and nights, with my handicap the entire time.

The green-haired woman’s eyes widened, “That’s...an extremely long time.”

Nameless laughs, turning his head back to his instrument, “I play the tunes of humanity, their hearts reaching out to me, souls baring their all.” 

Agatha tugs on her hand impatiently, giving the older girl a look that says ‘come on,’ so Shio turns away. “I’ll come visit again, sir.”

The pianist nods with a smile, and continues to play.

Leaving the pianist to his forever-ongoing work, Agatha again drags Shio through the greenhouse, bouncing with excitement. “Oh I can’t wait! You can meet my sister!”

“You...have a sister?” Shio asks, surprised.

The girl looks back at her and nods, beaming, “Yup! Actually, I have three, and a brother too. But this is only going to be one of them, sorry!”

Shio feels like a mother being dragged by her kid through a department store to the toy section. It was kinda cute of Agatha to be this enthralled about these things, but it was also a lot to handle when she didn’t know which way they would go when they came to a fork.

The two don't travel too far before they come across a small pond set against the side of the stone pathway, covered in lily pads and with some yellow flowers. 

Sitting at a bench next to it is the most elegant woman Shio has ever seen. She was older than Shio, around thirty, with a dark blue dress that flowed to her knees and had parallel golden circles going down the front. Her hair, the same color as Agatha’s, was immaculate, wavy in the back with the front curl framing the top half of her face, and a thin blue headband set on top. Dark leggings adorned her legs, and ended in two crisp blue heels. In her lap was a thick book opened to a page that revealed a language Shio had never seen before.

“Sister!” Agatha cries, throwing herself at the woman into a loving hug, burying her face into her chest. The woman chuckles and sets her book down, wrapping her arms around the gardener. “It’s good to see you too, Agatha.” She strokes her hair affectionately before looking up at Shio. “You must be our new guest. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Agatha’s sister and another assistant of the master’s, Margaret.”

The clear bond between the siblings left Shio with a warm feeling inside her heart. “The pleasure is mine.”

Agatha withdraws from her sister’s embrace and stands, still looking ecstatic. “I haven’t gotten to see her in a long time. She’s been helping our other sister and our brother with some stuff!” She then pouts, “Though I’m not allowed to know about what it’s for.”

Margaret picks up her tomb and stands as well, “Maybe one day, little one, you can help, when you’re strong and ready. You still technically haven’t finished your training to be the master’s primary assistant.”

The younger sister reddens, embarrassed, “Yeah...you’re right, sorry.”

The secretary ruffles her sister’s hair, “Don’t be, you’re fine. I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully for your own guest, just like we have.” She removes her hand and bows her head to Shio, “I must be on my way. Please, watch over my sister in my absence.”

Shio nods hesitantly, “Um, of course.” 

The gardener whines, “You’re leaving already?!”

“I’ll see you again soon enough, little one. I have important matters to attend to.” She gives her sister another quick hug, and then departs, walking off into the greenhouse.

The two return to Igor afterwards, who looks expectantly at his guest, “Welcome back. Did you enjoy meeting our fellow residents?”

Shio couldn’t help but chuckle and nod, “Ha, yes, they were very interesting. I’ll be sure to visit them in the future.”

Igor is delighted with her response, “Splendid!” He closes his eyes briefly before opening them and gesturing to the seat in front of him, which Shio occupies. “Now, it is nearly time for you to learn of the true nature of your power. Those who wield the possibility of summoning a Persona are certainly unique, but there are those that are even rarer, with only one ever existing at any given time. They are known as the Wild Card, and hold infinite potential.”

He pauses before continuing, “In the very near future, you will discover what this power means for yourself. With your next visit, you shall be ready to hear how I may assist you on your journey.”

The visit had only given Shio more questions than answers, but she got the feeling she’d have to wait until later to get them. 

“Before you leave us for today, allow me to do a reading of your future.” Igor sweeps his hand out across in front of him, and a small table with a velvet cloth appears. He does the move again, and several cards materialize onto the table’s surface. He flips one over, to reveal a card with the number 0 on it, along with a caricature of what appears to be a person and a dog. 

“Hm. This card, with a zero, is that of the Fool. That is your power. However, I have drawn it in the reversed position. For you, the Arcana represents your potential, as you can reach limitless heights and are at the start of your journey. The reverse of that reading may be taken as carelessness, or ignorance.”

“The sins of the ignorant masses…” Shio recalls. Igor blinks, and she isn’t sure if he’s neither confirmed nor denied her assessment.

“There are many interpretations of each reading. It is up to you to see where fate leads you, and to act upon what it asks of you.” Igor lowers his head, hiding his smile. “We will discuss this another time. Until then, farewell.”

Shio bids adieu to the residents and retreats back to her realm.

* * *

Upon her return, Shio finds herself standing back at the entrance to the door. The key had vanished, the door seemingly unlocked for her permanently now.

Ryushi and Yuki come down the path a couple minutes later, and the trio waste no time: they jimmy the window open and slip inside the lab, taking care to make sure no onlookers have wandered down to the lab. They make their way to the upstairs women’s bathroom and take stock of everything.

They’ve gathered several bottles of water, some old walkie talkies, a map of the university and surrounding area, and a few snacks as well; they wanted this to be worthwhile, and planned to stay over for at least an hour or two this time.

“OK, so, let’s go over this again,” Shio begins, parking herself on the sink counter so she was facing her cohorts, “we go over, try and at least cover the whole school and maybe down a street if we can, doing our best to avoid contact with demons.”

The freshmen nod, clipping their walkies down to their belts. The plan didn’t involve them separating at all, but they figured it couldn’t hurt to come prepared, especially since Ryushi had noticed on their first visit that their phones couldn’t make calls or get any sort of signal in the AR.

Once they cross over, Yuki pulls out the map and lays it out for the others to see, “So we’re in the northeastern part of campus. We’ve already been around the middle, so I say we follow the paths south and work our way around, then check out the main part last since the concentration of buildings is largest there and it’ll take the longest. Plus it’ll be the closest to here for us to run back in case of anything.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Shio said as she stands and Yuki stores the map, “I did some testing. I found I could go through my mirror at home. I think we’d need to do a lot more research to be sure, but at the very least I presume that if there’s a mirror on either side in the same spot, we can use it to cross over.”

“This is still really the only safe place to, though. If we returned from somewhere else, it could be straight into someone just there since that’d likely be a public place.” Ryushi states. “And coming here from another location besides the lab would be risky too.”

“Yeah, I know, but I feel like we might have to improvise at some point. We’ll work out the details later.”

The three explorers steel themselves, and head out into the Ashen Realm, Yuki occasionally glancing at the map and noting any inconsistencies between the worlds while Ryushi jots down her and his own findings. Shio walks behind them warily with purpose, Suijin at her beck and call.

It was slow going, as they perused each building they came across, checking out most of the rooms in each. After about forty-five minutes they’d yet to encounter any hostiles, and elect to take a brief respite against the back of one of the ruined lecture halls.

Shio realizes soon after they start that she’s doing a lot better than before in regards to the heat; it was still noticeable, but wasn’t affecting her nearly as much as the other two, though all three still down a bottle of water on the break.

“Well...I don’t think we’ve really found anything noteworthy,” Ryushi sighs as his eyes skim his notes, “Sure, there’s that one lab that didn’t have the new wing in it, and some older pathways, but literally nothing about what the hell this place is.”

Yuki pours some water on her hands and splashes her face in an attempt to alleviate the heat. “I wonder if we’re going about this wrong. Like, I dunno, it’s just nagging at me that we’re missing something.”

Shio opens her mouth to respond, but before she gets a word out, a small familiar voice makes itself known, coming from around the corner.

“Dammit, I hate him. I hate him I hate I hate-” the fairy creature from their first day in the AR comes into view and froze. “Oh no.”

Shio steps in front of the other two, a gentle wind whipping around her feet along with a wrinkle of blue sparks. “You again, huh?”

The fairy waves her hands out pleadingly and shakes her head, “N-no, please don’t kill me again! I swear, I-”

Suijin appears overhead, readying her blades, while Shio’s eyes lit up once more and the wind picked up.

“Eep! I swear, please, I don’t want trouble! I didn’t even know you were here!” She shields her face, 

Shio’s about to issue a command to her Persona when the fairy suddenly lowers her hands, and dramatically sniffs the air. Her gaze darts to Shio and she speeds over until she’s right in front of the green-haired girl, not unlike how she confronted her in their first encounter.

“Wait a minute wait a minute, do you have...do I smell pocky?”

Shio is so caught off guard that she accidentally dismisses Suijin back to her mind: Ryushi and Yuki, who had retreated to a safe distance behind some nearby charred trees, look out with widening eyes.

“...Uh, yeah, I have some...why?” 

The fairy claps her hands together and bows her head, “Can I please please have some before you kill me? It’s been ages since I’ve been able to get any and I miss it so much.”

The Persona user raises an eyebrow and reaches into her pack, pulling out a carton of the snack, “Um, yeah, sure.”

The girl monster’s eyes light up. “Oh my god I love you I love you.” She takes a couple and nibbles little bits off, squealing each time. “Ahhhh my love, I’ve missed you.”

Shio thinks this is maybe the most awkward thing she’s ever been a part of. She cranes her neck back at the other two, who’re still gazing at the situation in complete bafflement.

Soon the fairy finishes and sighs happily, hands over her heart. “I haven’t seen humans in forever, so I haven’t had their food either. Thank you thank you, you’re the best. I’m Pixie, by the way.”

“OK...nice to meet you Pixie...uh...you’re not going to attack again, are you? Because last time we saw you, you basically threatened us with death, or something akin to it.”

Pixie reddens and again waves her hands, “No no of course not! That was just, habit. Plus I had to keep up appearances around the others. I really don’t like our boss, honestly, he’s rude and he smells.” She sticks her tongue out. “He’s a dummy.”

By now Ryushi and Yuki have emerged from behind the trees, though they’re still a few feet back from Shio and the demon. 

Shio crosses her arms, “Who is your boss? Is he the one who rules this world?”

Pixie doubles over in laughter, “Oh my god, are you kidding? No way no way he’s some punk who came along like a week ago and started harassing everyone nearby. He’s been making us prepare some cluster of energy or something for some big thing he’s doing. Asshole is lucky he happens to be strong.” She stops laughing and looks up at the girl quizzically, “What’s it to you anyway? 

“Well, we’re...investigating this place. We don’t really know anything about it and why it exists.”

Pixie floats back up to eye level and puts her hand on her chin, “Sorry girl, no idea. Don’t really think anyone around here knows. Demons are like that: they’ll get territorial about the places they hunker down in, but likely won’t even bother to remember where they came from. Not unless they’re like, the super old dudes, y’know?”

Shio doesn’t know, but she went along with it. “Yeah, sure. Fair.”

Pixie pauses before lowering her voice, “So, um...I’m really sorry about the other day. Like I said, I didn’t really want to do it that day. My instincts flared up from seeing humans for the first time in forever, too. I’m done with those guys, really. I already know if I go against you, you can waste me. There’s really no point. I wouldn’t really gain anything anyway, after that last death I’m thinking about skedaddling somewhere else. It’s been boring around here.” She pauses again, then gets a teasing smile, “Though you guys seem fun. Could I hang out with you?”

Yuki puts her hand on Shio’s shoulder, tugging, “Hey, uh, Pixie? Could you let us talk alone for a second?”

The fairy demon shrugs, “Yeah, OK. Can I have another pocky though?”

The demon savors her treat as the trio huddle away from her. “Is this really a good idea?” Yuki asked, throwing a skeptical look over at the female demon.

“I don’t like this,” Ryushi’s tone is nervous, “it could be some sort of trap. She’s a _ demon _ .”

“Maybe she can help us. We’ve spent almost an hour here today and haven’t come away with anything conclusive yet. And she’s right that it only took me one attack before to get her down, so I think we’ll be OK. If anything happens, I can take care of it.”

Even though it was two against one, Shio’s unspoken authority as the leader swayed the others, and they agreed to allow the demon to tag along for a little while.

“Yes!” She pumped her tiny fists in the air.

A few minutes later, the odd group is heading towards the northwestern part of campus when it happens. A spell comes flying out of nowhere and hits Shio square in the back. “GAH!”

Ryushi and Yuki turn to see her collapsing to the ground, and behind her was a small light blue demon flitting about in the air towards them, moving in an elliptical pattern. Where their face would be there were three spirals, with the same design appearing on their skinny torso as well. Slightly behind that demon was the same jack-o-lantern from the other day, as well as a strange bird-like demon that looked like a dinosaur, with a skeletal red body and rainbow colored wings and plume-like growths. The three were laughing hysterically at their sneak attack.

Shio has become paralyzed with fear, unable to move or do anything else. Voices are berating her from inside her mind, and she found she couldn’t make rhyme or reason of anything. Unable to call Suijin, all that she can think about is how terrified she was.

“Haha, way to go, hee-ho! That’ll show you for messing with me!” the jack-o-lantern declares. The little blue demon fires off another shot, hitting Yuki this time, who also goes down clutching her head, and begins to breathe very quickly and shallowly, eyes filled with terror.

“Yuki!” Ryushi starts towards her, but a burst of fire from the jack-o-lantern hits him in the side, and he too crashes to the ground, still conscious but in a bad way.

“HEY!” Pixie flies over in front of her fellow demons, irate, “What are you guys doing? They weren’t hurting anyone!”

“Pixie? Why are you with the humans?” the pumpkin scoffs, incredulous. “We were wondering where you wandered off to, ho.”

“I’m hanging out with them, obviously. So go away. They’ve actually been nicer to me than you guys or the boss have been, so yeah, I think I’ll stick with them.” She humphs.

“Suit yourself.” Before Pixie could react, the pumpkin blasts her too, and she cries out and flies over to Shio, hiding behind her. The demon shakes Shio worryingly, muttering for her to get up.

The three demons ignore their former comrade and turn their attention to the other humans. “Kehehe, I don’t know why you all had such trouble with them. Maybe Pixie was holding you back, kehehe,” the bird said as it flapped over to Yuki, grabbing her by the shoulders with its talons; she screams in pain as their pierce her skin and draw blood. “I’ll see you guys back at the base, kehehe.” It drags the brunette, still in terror, away, around a corner and out of sight.

“N-no...Yuki…” Ryushi tries to get up, but the pain in his side was doing a good job at hampering him. After a few moments of struggle he manages to get to his knees. Behind him Shio is curled into a fetal position, with Pixie now hiding behind her as a makeshift shield.

The pumpkin and floating azure demon howl with laughter at Ryushi’s efforts. The boy blinks back tears and makes a fist, nails cutting into his palms and drawing blood. “I...I can’t…”

A gentle, cool breeze blows over the area, throwing some ash up in the air, and flickering the pumpkin’s lantern. He raises it, confused. “Huh, someone else around, hee-ho?”

He isn’t met with a response, but then the air starts to become more frigid, enough that Ryushi could start to see his breath.

Then, a deep, masculine voice reverberates through the world, cutting with sharp pain into Ryushi’s mind.

**_“Are you too weak to do anything?”_ **

“AHHH!” He screamed, grabbing at his head, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. The pain moves throughout him like a virus infecting every part of himself, until his entire body feels like it’s on fire.

**_“You, who have struggled with rebirth, who are faced with animosity for your choices in life-are you not willing to be proud of your own self? Or must you conform to others?”_ **

The jack-o-lantern swears, “Not this shit again.”

Ryushi is crying hard now, the hot tears on his face turning to ice as they fall from his visage, “Hell no...I-I am...I am proud…”

The voice booms with laughter,  **_“As you should be. It is others who do not take their own responsibility for the grief they cause others. You have the power to set them right.”_ **

As he stumbles to his feet, ice begins to spread out across the ground from where he stood, freezing the area over. The wind picks up and blows a cold air throughout the area, causing everyone’s teeth to chatter, except Ryushi’s.

By now the spell’s mostly worn off on Shio, who's groggily shaking her head and trying to take stock of the situation; Pixie pulls her back away from the ice.

The two demons had moved back away a bit from the epicenter of the cold, but are still watching in anticipation, with the blue one still moving about in the same way, seemingly fine with how events had progressed. The commotion began to attract more demons, emerging from the ash, until there were six or seven altogether encircling Shio and Ryushi.

“I’ll...I’ll do it…I’m done cowering...”

The ice that had spread out begins to quickly crack, breaking up and releasing bits of white-blue energy up into the air, forming around Ryushi in a circle. The air twinkles with cold crystals.

**_“Then our oath is made. We are now resolved to resist those who would ignore the consequences of their actions.”_ **

The wind that had picked up died down within a second; fragments of ice hovered in the air, the only sound in the area being Ryushi’s sniffles. He takes a deep breath and lifts his head up, face wet and full of rage, eyes glowing with white energy.

The wisps at his feet begin to swirl, collecting themselves into a towering figure above the enraged youth.

**_“Thou art I, and I am thou.”_ **

Tall and imposing, the Persona was a knight covered in thick black armor that looked to be made from dragon scales, with patches of white on the joints, and the breastplate had a light blue circle on it. Most startling was the head, which was a straight-up dragon’s, with a long neck and snout which was breathing out icy mist. The Persona’s hands and legs that jutted out from his armor were also reptilian in nature, with sharp claws. His scales were a blinding white, and his eyes were a bright yellow that gleamed with malice. Clasped to his side was a sheath with a long katana, which he drew and held high.

**_“I come from the sea of thy own soul. Born of Death, I arise to defend you...I am Kuraokami!”_ **

Shio staggers forward, slapping her face with both hands to get the last of the curse out, and plants her feet so she and Ryushi are back-to-back. She glances at him over her shoulder with a [smirk](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/0/07/Smt4_smirk_icon.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/220/height/220?cb=20190602023307) as her eyes flare up and her god materializes next to Kuraokami in a battle stance. “You ready for this?”

Ryushi doesn't bother to look, and simply nods, face livid.

“Then let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really changed things around while writing this chapter. I ended up throwing out a character who was essentially a Marie equivalent; they made sense in the older version, but here they didn't. Also there's no Belladonna because writing in song sounds...difficult. Maaaaaybe she'll show up later, but I doubt it. I just like the idea of Nameless hanging out and being talked to from time to time.
> 
> Originally I wanted to get through Yuki's awakening here, but...this chapter ended up being so long I decided to end off here. 
> 
> I'm playing fast and loose with lots of things; I'm not really representing how actual college works in Japan. Also, you can probably tell by now that the Personas are, like P4, based in Shinto beliefs. I'm trying to stick with that (and use it as inspiration), but I'm of course going to twist things when it makes sense, like how there's not much in the way of ice gods. So, improvising. Same with the Arcana; they're guides, but I'll do my best to not strictly adhere to them. 
> 
> I've also decided that a few social links are going to be in another story once this is eventually done. Really only 5-6, but ones that aren't plot important in any way. There will still be quite a few in the main story that aren't party members, and I'll signpost which'll be left for later as we progress.
> 
> Soon enough we'll get demon names outright instead of "the pumpkin" or other descriptors, but until then I'll list those used down here, especially since I'm mixing the pool I'm pulling from with Nocturne and possibly IV Apocalypse. Otherwise, most demons/Personas are pulled from P5's compendium.
> 
> Demons referenced:  
> Zhen: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/4/43/Zhen.png/revision/latest?cb=20190401160319  
> Kodama: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/8/80/180px-Kodama.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20190415230426


	6. An Ashen Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, for months: I don't need to buy Royal. I played P5 in Japanese and then in English. I can wait. 
> 
> Me, now: I bought Royal two days ago and already finished Kamoshida's Palace in one in-game day. 
> 
> Suffice to say, I'm not going to finish my other backlog games anytime soon...

The demons opposing them come in many shapes and sizes; Shio takes account of a small red devil, another couple of the horned horses from her first fight, a yellow jar with some blue monster hanging out in it, and what definitely looks like just a pile of sludge.

The two horses make the first move, stampeding towards the two humans. Ryushi doesn’t budge as Kuraokami leaps in front of him and grabs both by the horns, slowing both down to a halt just before the youth. From the dragon knight’s claws comes ice, until the demons are completely frozen over.

“My turn,” Shio says, electing to take a hands-on approach and charging straight at the devil. He yelps at this initiative and tries to dodge Shio’s punch, only to be impaled on Suijin’s blade coming from the opposite direction. The demon dissolves into a shadowy mist as the girl pumps her first, only to have the jar demon slam into her back with great force, sending her skidding across the ground. 

Ryushi’s rage falters as he witnesses this, and hurries over to her and quickly helps her up. “You OK?”

Shio dusts off the ash on her clothes and wipes some blood away from her cut lip, “Ha, yea. Ow. I really gotta watch my back, huh?”

Ryushi smirks and turns, willing Kuraokami to slice through the small blue demon who’d originally caused them so much grief. The demon manages to dodge the blade, and fires off a green spell that stirs up a fierce wind at Ryushi. His own attempt to get away ends up futile, as the attack manages to hit his legs and trip him up, sending him to the floor. 

Shio and Kuraokami stand above him protectively as he regains his composure, while Suijin takes revenge on the pot demon, launching an Aqua spell that sends it reeling but not out. 

The ooze sneaks up behind Suijin and attacks her with a lunge, catching the Persona and Shio off guard. She grits her teeth as she clutches her stomach, and then tries another personal attack, going for a direct punch on the slime creature. Just before impact, she realizes it might be futile to punch goop, but the demon ends up having a consistency more akin to rubber than anything, and is sent flying, while Ryushi has Kuraokami fire a bufu spell at the demon, hitting it midair and causing it to explode into icy chunks.

Ryushi smirks, “Alright, that’ll show-” he’s interrupted by the sound of ice shattering behind him, and upon turning he sees that the horses are still very much alive and have escaped their frozen prisons, and now seem to be very angry.

The jack-o-lantern finally decides to make a move, and lets out a volley of fire that goes for both Persona users. Ryushi narrowly avoids it, but Shio’s not so lucky, and gets a direct hit to the chest. It smarts, but she finds that it actually doesn’t hurt her that much compared to the other attacks she’s taken. “Huh, guess water beats fire,” she mumbles, before grinning and calling Suijin to return an Aqua at her opponent. The Persona complies, and as the water attack manages to make contact, the pumpkin slams into one of the horses, the impact causing both to cease to exist.

“And that leaves three,” the boy says as Kuraokami sheaths his katana, only to open his mouth and bellow out an attack that sends a number of icicles toward the flitting demon. It manages to avoid a few, but the number ends up being too great and one catches it in the chest, tearing it in two and vanquishing it.

Suijin follows up by moving with lightning speed at the pot demon, slicing it a couple times with her blades before retracting them as the demon fades away.

The last horse manages to get the jump on them while they destroy the last of its comrades, knocking over Shio from behind and gouging her upper arm with its horn. She lets out a swear and weakly jumps away, cradling her bleeding limb. The demon whinnies and rears its legs in victory, only to receive a water arrow in its throat, which breaks apart as the demon dissolves.

Ryushi pants heavily, collapsing on the ground and barely staying conscious. Shio crouches beside him still nursing her arm while trying to put pressure on the wound. “H-hey, you alright?”

The black-haired youth nods, wiping ash and blood off his face. 

The sound of clapping invades their ears, and they turn to see Pixie flying over. “That was awesome that was AWESOME! You guys are awesome!”

Shio spit out blood into a pile of ash, “Ha, yeah. And I got a trophy to show for it,” inclining her head to the puncture on her arm. It went in at an angle and didn’t go too deep, but it’s enough that she should be going to a hospital right away.

The fairy gasped, “Oh, right! Sorry!” She puts her hands together and closes her eyes, and a moment later a wave of twinkling light washes over the green-haired girl. Shio winces and takes her hand away from her wound, only to watch as it heals over, until there’s only a faint scar. An examination of her lip and other places she’d been wounded in the fight reveals they’re normal as well, if a little sore.

Pixie performs the move again, and the scrapes on Ryushi’s face heal up nicely. Soon the only indicators that they were in the fight at all are the ash covering their clothes and a slight tear in Shio’s shirt. 

“Holy shit,” Shio ran a couple fingers over her new scar, and rotated her shoulder as an experiment, feeling no pain. “That’s. Wow.”

Pixie giggled, while Ryushi suddenly had a jolt run through him, his head darting up. “Yuki.”

“Shit,” Shio said, glancing over to where she’d been before. Some distance away a clear trail in the ash was running across the ground in the direction she’d been dragged.

Ryushi didn’t even bother saying anything, instead taking off in a sprint after her kidnapper. Shio ran after him, with Pixie jetting through the air just behind her.

It turned out demons are bad at navigating, since the flying bird had apparently pulled Yuki through half of campus before looping back to the main plaza, with the trail disappearing in front of the building with the ruined corner.

The three search through the building until they come across a lecture hall, where they encounter a gruesome sight.

At least a dozen demons are hanging around the area, some familiar, some not. Yuki’s down in front of where the projector would be displaying, and hovering over her is a demon with an apron, metal-working tools, a copper head, and one foot encased in a black boot. He bangs his tools together and roars, “Death to the humans!”

He’s met with some cheers from his fellow demons, and as he raises his arms up, he notices Shio and Ryushi across the room. “More humans! Seize them!”

“Tch, so much for the element of surprise,” Ryushi muttered, running down the elongated steps towards the front of the room, dodging some demon’s attacks whilst also invoking Kuraokami to deal with some nearby enemies.

Shio traveled the length of the room and ran down the opposite side, occasionally ducking or jumping, with Suijin behind her taking out the demons farthest from the room’s stage and Pixie weaving through the chaos.

Ryushi of course makes it first, skidding to a stop a few feet from the metal monster, though in his hurry he also allows himself to get surrounded. Shio kicks a demon out of the way to break through the large circle around him, allowing herself to be boxed in as well.

“Y’know, this might’ve been a bit reckless,” Ryushi admits, backing up so he and Shio are once again back-to-back, facing a circle of enemies. The mechanic demon laughs at his confession, clanging his tools again.

“Yeah, but friends are worth doing dumb things for right?” Shio retorts, bringing her fists up, with Pixie landing on her shoulder and getting in the same stance ( _ “I dunno if I should be flattered or not,” _ Shio thinks, seeing the tiny demon out of the corner of her eye). The horde of demons are about ten feet from them on all sides, cackling and inching closer, eyes glowing menacingly.

“Nngh,” Yuki gets out, stirring. It’s just now that Shio realizes her arms have blood all the way down them from being pierced by the bird demon’s talons (who’s now flying overhead, waiting to strike).

“Well well well, you humans are quite interesting, putting yourselves in harm's way,” the metalworking demon cackles, floating closer to them and away from Yuki. 

“Hey, Pixie,” Shio lets out of the corner of her mouth, “Can you heal her?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Pixie performs the spell, and behind the demon Yuki is briefly covered in light, the blood on her arms retreating back into her body. 

“It’s been about two decades since I’ve gotten to kill a human, make them suffer,” the demon continues, “and I’m going to enjoy this.”

“Fuck...you…”

The demon in charge stops, turning to look at Yuki, who’s now getting to her feet. She breathes heavily for a moment, nearly losing her footing, and then straightens.

As he’s distracted, Shio and Ryushi elbow past the demon so they’re now in front of their friend, their Personas glaring at the opposition.

However, Yuki squeezes through the two of them, putting herself in the front. “I’m not letting you two take all the credit for this. I’m pissed I got singled out back there and taken advantage of. I am not backing down.” She turned and looked at them, especially at Ryushi, “Don’t try and stop me.”

At that moment, the ground shakes, causing some of the demons who don’t have the power of flight or levitation to lose their footing and fall over. 

**_“Will you carry that resolve with you in life?”_ **

The shout echoes from everywhere in the hall, and as it makes itself known Yuki seizes her head in distress, crying out.

“Alright, here we go,” Shio muttered.

**_“The people of this world are not motivated enough to save it. Are you willing to commit yourself to preventing its destruction?”_ ** The voice is feminine and calming, but also holds a degree of passion and conviction to it.

Yuki starts to stomp one of her feet down every few seconds, and with each instance the rumbling increases, enough that cracks begin to form in the floor. All the chairs in the room shake free from their restraints, tumbling into piles everywhere. 

“O-of course,” Yuki spat out, fingers digging into her hair as the pain increased. “I am not going to sit here and do nothing. I am not BACKING. DOWN.”

Her last phrase causes the cracks to turn into fissures, the fault lines moving up the walls as well. 

**_“Then our oath is made. We will commit ourselves to our duty of this world’s salvation.”_ **

Chunks of the ceiling break off and come crashing down, squashing multiple demons in the process. Suijin and Kuraokami made sure to destroy any that would hit their other selves.

Yuki grits her teeth and lowers her hands, body shaking. Her eyes, downcast, are a dark green. The expected fire exploded out from where she stood, rising into the air.

**_“Thou art I, and I am thou.”_ **

Yuki’s Persona is made of shiny silver steel, from head to toe. Aside from being made of metal, her face appears entirely human, though frozen in her expression, with a small smile and closed eyes. She’s clad in a green robe that’s decorated with pink and yellow flowers, the sash being a darker green. Her entire body, save her face, is covered in vines, leaves, and newly sprouted flowers. Her metal hands are placed in front of her in prayer, and her feet of the same make are adorned with traditional wooden sandals.

**_“I emerge from the sea of thy soul. Without my guidance, humanity would fall to the dangers of the Earth...I am Haniyasu-Hime!”_ **

The copper-headed demon snorts at the Persona’s appearance, “What’s she gonna do? Pray that I miss my attack?”

Yuki merely glares, and out from Haniyasu-Hime’s shoulders sprout two large, metal cannons, also covered in vines, with rocket boosters at their ends.

“Damn, that rules,” Ryushi breathes, admiring his friend’s new guardian.

The demon doesn’t really have a face that shows expression, but his tone makes his response all too clear; “ _ Oh. _ ”

The blasts from the cannons hit the head demon in the chest, sending him flying and crashing into a wall.

Yuki lifts her foot and stomps it down, and chunks from the floor burst free and are sent flying at a host of demons, disintegrating them instantly.

A blue-skinned lady performs a dance that creates a plethora of ice chunks and sends them at the group, who scramble out of the way, with Kuraokami throwing its claw out and seizing the projectiles for itself, redirecting them back at the metalhead, who shrugs off the punishment. He leaps through the air and slams Haniyasu-Hime with his mallet, who sails through the air but is caught by Suijin before colliding with anything.

The trio whittle down the pack of demons until only the metalhead remains, battered and angrier than ever.

“Humans will never destroy the likes of me!” He suddenly moves with incredible speed, getting in quick blows on all three of them before jumping back out of reach.

“Tch,” Shio mutters as she gets up while nursing her side. “I think we’re done playing with you.”

The brunette stands, “I think you’re right.” The two look at each other and wordlessly nod, and spring into action, Suijin flying around behind the metalhead, with Haniyasu-Hime praying opposite, leaving the demon in the middle.

Yuki’s Persona fires beams from her cannons that converge into a single attack, which the metalhead quickly leaps away from, sending the attack straight at Suijin. The water goddess extends her blades and brings them up in an ‘x’ in front of her, catching the beam and redirecting it toward the midair demon who isn’t able to change his momentum from his leap. He bellows a final death scream as the power catches him and he evaporates, leaving no trace behind, save the scrapes on the three fighters.

Ryushi, who’d gotten pretty banged up during the fight, weakly got to his knees, “How...the fuck did y’all do that?”

Yuki shrugs, “I dunno, it just. Worked.”

Suijin disappears as Shio dusts herself off, “I trusted Suijin to do what would work, and she did.”

The two newly awakened Persona users look at their other selves, as if just taking stock of them finally. “Damn. I still can’t believe this,” Ryushi mutters, putting his hand on Kuraokami’s armor. The dragon snorts and fades away, as does the earth goddess.

The three find their injuries healing themselves as Pixie flies down to them from her hiding spot in the rafters, “I really made the right choice today. This is so much better than how my days normally go! Fun fun!”

Shio stretches, “Well, I guess...that’s it right? That was the boss, right? So I say it’s time to go home.”

Pixie frowns, “Huh? No, that wasn’t the guy I meant. That dude was just his lackey.” She looks around, “The boss guy is Makami, he-” the demon is rudely interrupted by the entire wall blasting open.

The four yell in confusion and pain as they’re sent flying, landing in awkward positions. 

On the other side of the wall, which led outside, was a...very large demon, Shio had to admit. It was about fifteen feet tall, and was shaped like a flat, long rodent, with an admittedly cute face. The really noticeable thing, though, was the ash.

Its body seemed to be entirely made of the stuff, with every movement shaking some off of its body. The only part of it that wasn’t a dark gray color was its red eyes that were full of an unimaginable hatred, and it was directing that feeling at the three humans.

Pixie’s got wide, “He got...a lot bigger…and he didn’t look like that before...”

Shio wasted no time in summoning Suijin and directing her to blast the demon with an Aqua move, but the burst of water hit the Ashen Makami and didn’t garner any sort of reaction whatsoever. Kuraokami and Haniyasu-Hime encounter similar results, and the giant demon releases a great deal of wind, causing a whirlwind to pop up in the room. Chairs, rubble, and other parts of the building get caught and begin to fly around in circles around the area, nearly taking out the group’s Personas. Pixie dives to Shio’s shoulder and grabs on to her shirt, desperately hanging on as the Persona user dismisses Suijin and tries to get somewhere safe. 

Shio manages to hunker down in one of the fissures that Yuki caused earlier, while the other two huddle a dozen feet from her in a similar spot, heads ducked.

Over the next five minutes the three peak their heads out occasionally to try and fire a shot off at the Ashen Demon and continue to see zero results, sometimes having to relocate to another safe spot when the Makami destroys what little cover they have.. With each minute the building begins to break apart more and more, and the demon encroaches farther in.

“Fuck, I have to do something,” Shio says, glancing at Yuki and Ryushi cowering together across from her.

Pixie releases her iron grip on the girl’s shirt and moves in front of her, looking determined. “I think we can take him on together.”

Shio looks puzzled, “How? You saw, Suijin doesn’t have the right attacks to take this guy on. And if you couldn’t put a dent in me, I don’t think you can in that thing.”

The fairy nods, “Well, I think he’s actually weak to my electric attack. Thing is, I’m not powerful enough myself to really take advantage of that. He’d shrug it off like your attacks. But, if we did it together, if I lent you my power-”

“The hell are you talking about?” Shio winces as a chair goes flying by and nearly cuffs the top of her head. 

“Just do it! Form a bond with me!” The fairy says impatiently, “We don’t have time to argue!”

Shio looks at her with bafflement, and then relents, “OK, OK...Give me your power.”

Pixie smiles, and turns into the same blue-white fire that Personas release, which flies into Shio. She gasps, and then she understands.

Yuki looks over to see Shio stepping out from her cover. Ryushi lifts his head, wincing, “Hey, get out of there Shio, don’t do something stupid!”

The green-haired girl ignores him, closing her eyes and bringing her hand up in front of her. The Ashen Makami launches a light fixture at her, but Suijin deflects it. Shio then snaps her fingers, causing a large gale to blow out from her, and Suijin disappears. The blue energy manifests around Shio in a column flowing upward, and she opens her eyes, now a bright yellow.

“Come, PIXIE!”

The telltale demon appears overhead, a large smile on her face, “Oh YES! Now this is what I’m talking about!”

The other two Persona users look flabbergasted. “Wait, WHAT?!”

Pixie darted down to Shio’s shoulder, “This totally worked! I feel like I can do way more!”

Shio grins, “Let’s rock.”

The newly-minted Persona jets off, flying through the debris until she’s close enough to fire a lightning spell, “Take this, you jerk!” The attack doesn’t seem too powerful in the grand scheme of things, but it does enough to throw the demon off, and with that its vortex of flying chairs and pieces of concrete falters. 

“Guys, now!” Shio snaps her fingers again and Pixie switches to Suijin, who immediately darts in delivers a few consecutive slashes to the Ashen Demon, 

The Makami bellows with rage, swiping at Suijin and sending the Persona crashing into the ground; Shio falls to her knees in agony. While it’s distracted, the other two take their chance and fire off spells that knock the demon away, and the wind briefly dies down. Shio spits blood out of her mouth and snaps again, “Give ‘em another Zio,” she gets out.

Pixie obliges, the bolt of electricity shooting from her hands that lands a direct hit, and she follows it up with another, and another, which leads to both the new Persona and her user feeling a great deal of fatigue. It ends up being worth it, though, as the huge enemy lets out a low roar and topples over into a heap on the ground, looking like a giant snakeskin.

“Ha, gotcha!” the green haired girl cries triumphantly, desperately trying to not pass out from the sudden sleepiness. Her victory is short-lived, though; the demon stirs within moments, and draws itself back up to its full height, letting out a piercing scream. The wind that picks up is weaker now, but still powerful enough that a wall piece catches Yuki in the stomach and knocks the wind out of her.

“Shit,” Ryushi and Shio make their back to where Yuki landed, with Shio having Pixie douse her with another healing spell: She can tell that she won’t be able to keep up the healing much longer, let alone attacks.

“OK, I think we have one shot at this before Pixie can’t fire any more electric shots that that thing is weak to, so we really need to be on top of this. I’m gonna go for that barrage again, and then all three of us pounce. Good?”

The freshmen nod, their eyes determined, and they leap into action.

The plan works, the weak-attack spells bring the demon down, and the three get in vicious attacks before it can recover. The enemy bellows one last time, the ash flying up off its body into a large cloud, while the actual demon itself falls as the rest have. The ash cloud exists for a moment before dispersing into the air, and in a moment there’s no trace left of it. 

The Personas are dismissed as the three collapse in a heap, sweaty and covered with ash. Shio weakly snaps her fingers and Pixie reveals herself one more time, and heals their wounds. “Man that was so FUN!”

Yuki rolls over and sits up before beginning to brush off bits of rock that are pushing into her skin, “Easy for you to say. I didn’t see you get clocked multiple times.”

The Persona/demon pouts, “Well I’m sorry for enjoying myself.” She flutters down to Shio, “You really are super powerful! It’s not often I make a pact with someone like you!”

“Wait, you’ve done this before?” Ryushi asks, sitting up himself and rubbing his face, “What even happened back there? I thought you’re a demon. How...are you hers now?”

The fairy settles on Shio’s shoulder, who’s still unsure how to take this move; “Demons are just projections of humanity’s unconscious and stuff, y’know? It’s like, we exist because of you. So us returning to your hearts isn’t that weird, really. It’s like we’re a...shadow of your own selves. We just aren’t specific to any individual like your Personas.”

“So...does that mean I could have another?” Yuki asks, hands on her hips.

Pixie swoops over to be in front of her and peers into her eyes. “Mmm, I’m gonna say no. You’re normal.”

_ “This must’ve been what Igor meant...the Wild Card…” _ Shio thinks.  _ “Infinite potential…” _

“I think we already knew she was special from the moment her arm went through a freaking mirror, so, yeah, I’m just gonna go with it,” Ryushi stretches, glancing at his watch. “We should probably head back, it’s already 5:00 and I don’t think I’d survive another fight. We can talk about all this once we’re...somewhere not here.”

* * *

As they vacate the Kanzato Lab, Shio glances at the Velvet Room door and blanches; Agatha is standing next to it, waving at her. “Hey! My master wants to talk to you!”

Shio’s mouth hangs open a little bit, eyes wide. Ryushi and Yuki walk a few steps away before they realize she’s stopped walking, and look back at her in confusion. “Uh, you OK?” Yuki asks.

Shio snaps out of her trance, “O-oh yeah! Just uh...go ahead, I’ll be there in a sec. I gotta...call my mom about something.”  _ (“Shit, I actually should call mom. She’s probably mad I haven’t.”) _

Ryushi shrugs, “Yeah sure. See you in a bit then.” He and Yuki turn away and set off down the path, a bit slower than they’d normally walk.

Agatha beams as Shio walks over to her, “Don’t worry, you’re the only one who can see me. Now c’mon, he’s waiting!”

The Velvet Room’s master is wearing his trademark smirk as Shio enters and occupies her seat.

“You have discovered your own unique ability, and managed to overcome a great ordeal at the same time. For that, I applaud you,” Igor briefly bows his head before continuing, “As the Wild Card, you are able to wield multiple Personas of many different Arcanas, each with different strengths and skills for you to take advantage of.”

Agatha steps forward, now clutching the book that’s normally hooked to her belt, “You really have the potential to be super strong-it’s really exciting! But, it’s up to you to truly harness it. That’s where your relationships begin to be really important.”

Igor nods again, “By forming bonds with others, you will nurture what are known as ‘Social Links.’ As you grow closer, the power of Personas related to that Social Link’s Arcana will grow, especially when they are fused with others. That is where I come in; at your behest, I may fuse your Personas into new forms that may be completely different.”

The gardener strides over and leans close to Shio, “And if you have any questions, you can come to me! I can tell you anything you need to know about Personas, or demons for that matter!” She smiles like this is the most amazing thing in the world;  _ “What is with all these people getting in my face today?” _

“OK, I’ll be sure to come to you sometime soon.” Agatha retreats back to stand by Igor, fingers drumming on the book’s surface. 

“When you have more Personas that you are willing to part with, I will show you the intricacies of fusion,” Igor says, “I’m sure you will be able to acquire some most splendid Personas, indeed. You have already shown a unique potential with your initial Persona, and I look forward to seeing your progress.”

* * *

Shio catches up with the two as they begin to re-enter the normal parts of campus, and see a fair number of people all walking in a specific direction. They follow and eventually reach the main plaza, where a large crowd has amassed itself outside of one of the buildings, and it’s with a shock that Shio realizes it’s the same building where they just had their battle. The three head over to the crowd and crane their heads to see what’s going on.

One of the onlookers notices them and speaks up, “Did you guys not hear? They had to evacuate the building. Someone pulled an alarm and the fire department’s supposed to be here any minute. Heard a rumor that it was a gas leak, but I dunno for sure.” They turn away and try to get closer.

“You guys don’t think...we had something to do with this, do you?” Yuki whispers as they slink away.

“There’s no way, right? It has to be a coincidence.”

Ryushi collapses onto a bench a fair distance from the crowd, breathing shallowly, Yuki sitting next to him. Shio elects to stand, hand on chin. “...Yeah, I don’t think we can be conclusive either way.” She lowers her hand, “Hey, you guys wanna get something to eat? I’m kinda famished after all that.”

“Now that is a sentiment I can agree with,” Yuki declares, cracking her knuckles.

They end up at a ramen joint not too far from campus, a cozy little place with a bar and a flat screen on the wall. They claim a table in the corner for themselves, and soon enough are slurping down the special for today.

“Oh gods, I did need this,” Ryushi gets out as he finishes a bite and goes in for another, and then drinks some broth up, not bothering to slow down.

Shio raises an eyebrow, “Does he...always eat this fast?”

Yuki nods, sipping some of her broth, “Yeah. It’s like he’s afraid someone else will take it if he takes too long.” 

The black-haired youth shoots her a scathing look over his spoon, and swallows. “I like food and I’m a growing boy, I’m sorry.” He waves over one of the waiters, “Hey, can I get more noodles, please?”

The girls snicker at this, which Ryushi chooses to ignore and instead downs half of his glass of water in one gulp. 

A bit later, one of the hosts switches channels on the TV to the news, and the subject catches Shio’s eye. She nudges the other two and gestures at the reporter talking with a live feed of the building the crowd had previously gathered around.

_ “Today, Gunma University experienced a scare as a lecture hall was evacuated after several students reported smelling an odor coming from one of the laboratories. Emergency responders arrived at the scene soon afterward, but relayed that after their arrival slightly after 5 PM, they couldn’t find any trace that any sort of gas leak had occurred. The building is on lockdown for the next few days as officials will be doing several more thorough checks to ensure that the rumor was in fact, just a rumor. This is just the latest in the string of unexplained incidents happening around the greater Maebashi area, though no correlation has been made between the events. The Minister for Transport is advising…” _

Shio’s gaze moves to Ryushi, “Didn’t you say it was 5 when we beat that thing?” The boy, still eating, nods.

“But then, there has to be some correlation, right?” Yuki insists, setting her chopsticks down. “What if that demon was somehow going to like, cause the leak?” She lowers her voice, “What if they’ve been causing  _ all  _ of these accidents?”

The green-haired woman wills Pixie to the forefront of her mind,  _ “Hey, uh, do you know anything about this? At all?” _

She can tell the fairy is crossing her arms, attempting to recall information,  _ “Mmmm not entirely. Like, yeah I heard about some other guys popping up around the AR who boss others around like that Makami, but they up and disappeared as soon as word traveled around about them.” _

“Pixie doesn’t really know,” Shio relays, shoveling some noodles into her mouth. “But I have to agree. There’s no way we can ignore this. This is an actual harm those demons can cause from their side.”

Ryushi, done with his bowl, sets his utensils down and folds his hands in front of him. “I’m with her. If there is a chance that they’re related, we might be able to stop something really bad. I mean, as far as I know, no one’s died from these accidents yet, but...a gas explosion’s no small thing. If we can prevent that sort of thing...I’m in.”

Yuki polishes off her glass of water and nods her head firmly, “I was in from the beginning, but now I’m committed.”

Shio looks both of them in the eye, “We’re the only ones who can do something. If we don’t, we’re just turning our backs on innocent people. We might be flying blind, but I...I know in my heart, that we can fight this...whatever it is. We can make a difference.”

An overwhelming feeling flows through Shio as her friends give her looks of solidarity and encouragement,, and she’s surprised to hear Agatha’s voice echo through her mind: 

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Fool Arcana…**

The moment fades, and the three stare before Ryushi’s stomach breaks the ice, letting out a rumble.

“Holy shit,” Shio says as Yuki bursts into laughter, “How much do you need to eat, dude?”

“I skipped lunch, OK?” He explains, red. “Also I’m pretty sure those extra noodles are actually just going to hit my stomach any minute and I’ll regret all this.” He still gestures for the server again, asking what appetizers they have.

The green-haired woman closes her eyes and grasps her locket,  _ “I hope I can make your proud doing this, Dad…I’ll do my best…” _

* * *

By the time that Shio’s home, the full weight of her adventures in the AR have hit her, and she’s ready to clock out as soon as she hits her pillow.

As she walks in, Akari looks up from her program, “Hey. I heard about what happened at school, everything cool? You didn’t have class in that building, did you?”

Shio shakes her head, “Nope, thankfully I was just hanging out with some friends and we happened to pass by afterwards.” She yawns, “I’m gonna hit the sack, I already ate with them and I’m too full to do anything else.”

Her aunt giggles, “Alright. Good to hear you’re already making friends, it took me forever to get my foot in the door whenever I changed schools or anything. Night.”

The girl plugs her phone in and lays down, and soon finds herself asleep, dreaming of gods and demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter, I realized something:  
> I'm not a fan of writing fight scenes. :P But I'll get better at this as time goes on, I'm sure. I'll have more to work with, too. 
> 
> You all do not know how excited I am to write DEMON NEGOTIATION, though. I'm gonna have fun with that. Speaking of that, I am blending the idea of demons/shadows a bit; it'll be more clear soon, but I think in the realm of Persona it's not really wrong to associate them.
> 
> Every few chapters I'm gonna leave a list here at the end with the Arcanas we've confirmed so far.
> 
> Shio Kiyomizu-Fool  
> Ryushi Teshima-Death  
> Yuki Saito-Chariot
> 
> Demons referenced:  
> Ippon-datara   
> Slime  
> Asparas  
> Makami  
> Incubus   
> Agathion


	7. Forming an Order

**Friday, April 17th, 2020**

Shio’s brain didn’t let up with its thoughts the whole day as she moved between classes. Her world had completely changed in less than a week, and sharing her mind with multiple entities was quite a change in of itself.

As she enters the building that houses the campus pool and gym, she’s so distracted she collides with another girl as she walks in and ends up sprawled out on the ground.

“Ah fuck, sorry,” she apologizes, rubbing her head. After a moment she glances up to see a larger woman who looks like she could snap Ryushi in two if she wanted, clad in workout gear with a duffel bag in hand. Her jet-black locks reach down to her navel, and she’s wearing a grouchy reaction.

“Watch where you’re going, bitch,” she muttered angrily, walking away. 

The Fool blinks and shrugs to herself as she gets up, “ _Some people, jeez._ ”

* * *

Swimming doesn’t seem popular to Shio as she stands with half a dozen other ladies in front of the four who seem to comprise the entire team. They’re all wearing the school’s colors in swimsuit form, with the upper body being red, the torso green, and the bottom section blue, along with white swim caps and their own personal goggles. The captain, a woman at least two years Shio’s senior, has her firestorm of curls out, and goggles in her hand.

“OK, listen up. This isn’t some beginners level club where we doggy paddle or some shit. If you make the team, you’re expected to be here at 6 am three days a week for forty-five minutes of intense practice, and to also keep in tip-top shape on your own time. If your technique is unrefined, I will work with you, but if you can’t keep up or don’t bother trying to, I will leave you to the sharks.”

There’s some uncomfortable shuffling after the redhead’s speech, and one of the freshmen looks like she’s going to puke. As soon as the captain turns her head, she bolts for the door.

The captain turns back and places her hands on her hips, sighing at the girl’s flight. The others fidget, while Shio rocks back and forth on her heels. The captain begins to strap on her swim cap, somehow easily getting her curls underneath (the hopeful new members seem more impressed by this than her speech) and puts her goggles on, “The name’s Kotori Watanabe, and I expect you to remember it. Suit up and meet us in five minutes.”

Shio doesn’t really care for the color scheme on the suits, nor does her provided one fit her as well as she’d like, but she knows it’ll suffice once she’s in the water.

Growing up, she always liked swimming. She and Daichi had enjoyed themselves at a host of places, from the local pool to the beach. He himself had grown up in a small fishing town, and he had often spoken of how he missed being able to go out on the ocean every day.

Even though Shio mostly avoids thinking about her deceased parent often, and has coped with the loss, there are times where she finds she needs to get away from it all and both try to remember the sound of his voice and dismiss it from her mind entirely. She greatly honors her father’s memory, but in the past few weeks something has tipped the feelings she worked so hard to balance, and it’s hard to keep a dry face when she thinks of him.

As Shio lowers herself into the pool, a rush of energy courses through her. Besides bathing, it’s her first time immersing self in water in almost a decade, and coupled with the vitality she feels from Suijin’s power, the feelings are almost overwhelming.

Kotori stands on the opposite side of the pool along with the rest of the small team, “I want you all to do twenty goes, ten here, ten back. I don’t care about your technique or time right now, I care that you push yourself and try.”

Her dad had never instilled any sort of rhythm in her strokes, yet Shio found that they came naturally, and before she knew it she’d finished, way ahead of the other hopefuls.

As she pops her head up, Kotori crouches next to her, stopwatch in hand, “Damn. you’ve got a drive girl. We don’t see many newbies get times like that.”

Shio frowns as she puts her hand up on the ledge to steady herself, “I thought we weren’t being timed?”

Kotori smirks, “I said I didn’t care about your time, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t track it anyway. I can’t consider what you need working on without it, y’know?” She straightens, then looks puzzled, “Are you not tired either?”

Now that she mentions it, Shio realizes she doesn’t feel remotely tired after her impressive feat. As the others finish, they cling to the sides for support, panting heavily. “I guess not.”

Kotori whistles, “I haven’t seen stamina like this before. It kinda makes me think you didn’t actually exert any effort, somehow,” her eyes narrow, sizing up Shio, “but I think I’m more interested in how far you can truly go. You’re on the team.”

All the other girls end up making the team too, and the meet ends with the new members drying themselves off as Kotori delivers a final speech.

“All of you showed real promise and commitment today, which is fantastic. Keep it up and I know we’ll do great in-” she’s cut off from a ringing noise in the bag strapped to her shoulder. The redhead pulls her phone out with an agitated look on her face, which turns into a more panicked expression as she sees what’s on the screen. She quickly stuffs her phone away, “Sorry, I’ve got to go. Hana can get all your contact info, and you all better be here Monday at 6 AM!” She said the last bit as she ran out the door, leaving the rest of the team looking flustered at her abrupt decision to leave. One of them, an older teammate with pixie-styled black hair, seems particularly upset, with a hurt expression on her face. The team disbands soon afterward, and as Shio walks home, her fingers tap away at her device and fire off a message to her friends.

**Shio:** Would you all want to have a meeting tomorrow to try and make more sense of what we’ll be doing w regards to the AR?

By the time she’s walking up the stairs of Regan Apartments, both Yuki and Ryushi have responded.

**Yuki:** I’m fine w/ that.

 **Ryushi:** what time were u thinking?

 **Shio:** Probably midday? What about 1?

 **Yuki:** fine by me. Where do we wanna meet?

 **Shio:** Meeting at the Lab feels inconvenient. Anywhere we could also get food n stuff?

 **Ryushi:** There’s Keyaki Walk kinda nearby, it’s got a lot of places and a large food court. That work?

 **Shio:** Sounds good. I’ll see u guys then!

* * *

**Saturday, April 18th, 2020**

It seems to Shio like everyone and their mother had the same idea they did yesterday, because Keyaki is pretty packed. She gets tired of hearing herself say apologies fairly quickly as she maneuvers through the weekend crowds of teens and families trying to escape the heat. 

After about twenty minutes of searching, she finally locates Yuki and Ryushi holed up in a corner of the food court, sipping sodas and splitting a platter of takoyaki. 

“I don’t know if I should be mad at you for picking this place, or give you chops for managing to grab the one table that doesn’t require touching elbows with your neighbors,” Shio huffs as she collapses into a seat. 

Ryushi shows his palms in mock surrender, “Hey, I didn’t tell everyone else to come here today. Besides, no one’ll hear us over here anyway.”

The brunette sets her drink down and reaches into her bag, hoisting out a tablet along with a keyboard. She begins typing away as she talks, “OK, what’re we doing here, Shio? You’re the leader here, give me some direction.”

A small amount of blush crosses her face at being called ‘leader’ before Shio speaks, “W-well, I think we know right now what we should do-fight those ashen demons. I mean, demons in general are bad (Pixie does not take kindly to this, but Shio ignores her), but if they really are the ones causing these incidents, we need to take action.”

The black-haired boy’s fingers drummed on the table, “That’s all well and good, but I realized that we kinda skipped a step there; how are we going to know about them? These accidents have been happening basically every couple weeks now, and it’s not like they’re just near the campus. We can’t search the entire city for them each day.”

Shio’s mouth opens in surprise, baffled at not considering this problem, “Shit, I didn’t...yeah, really, we did get really lucky running into the one that we did...there could be one now, for all that we know.”

“I actually doubt that,” Yuki turns her screen to show a few articles pulled up, covering the incidents that have occurred thus far. “There have been five of them so far-the flood, the gas leak, the fire, the sewage leak, and the earliest, a sinkhole on the outskirts of town opening up underneath a suburban road. There are definitely other small ones happening, but these five have all been unexplained by the authorities: They know that that transformer blew, but inspectors couldn’t find a reason why. They’ve all occurred at least sixteen days apart, sometimes more. We should have time to prepare.” She turns her tablet back and continues clicking and clacking away. “At least, for the next big one.”

“That’s true, but Maebashi is sprawling. There’s no way we could search every alley, every building. We would need to be thorough.” Shio bites a ball of takoyaki and fans her face from its heat.

“See...I brought this up because...I might have a solution.” Ryushi smiles knowingly.

Yuki’s fingers pause, “...and that is?”

“I need to do some work, but...I think I can do this. We should have at least two weeks before anything happens. I’ll have to do some research, I’ll get back to you all on that.”

Shio decides not to press, “Alright, if you think so. Just let us know if it doesn’t work out, we need to be ready. We also need to decide on our days-Thursdays seem to be fine, and we should have one other day for expeditions, disregarding the days where the ashen demons appear. By the way, let’s call them ADs for short. Acronyms make things feel more official, ha.”

“Speaking of, should we name this little outfit of ours?” Yuki asks as she stops again to drink from her soda, “Or do we need to define any other terms?”

“The Investigation Team?” Ryushi suggests. “We’re...investigating things…”

“Naw, that sounds too basic. Hmmm…” Shio racks her brain for a moment, “...Ashen Realm...Ashen Realm...Explorers? No, saying ‘we are ARE’ sounds stupid...what about...knights?”

“Ashen Realm Knights...mmm...so, ARK for short? I can live with that.” 

“Yeah, makes it sound like we’re a part of some anime honestly,” Ryushi chuckles, stretching.”Getting back to what you said, Saturdays work for me. Well, not today Saturday, but most in the future should.”

“I’ve got practice early on Saturdays, but that should be fine too. Just gotta wait until after noon for me.” Yuki finishes typing and stows her tablet, “...I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around all this. Like, I don’t disbelieve it, but...yeah, I dunno. It’s just our reality now.”

“It’ll just take time, I guess. There’s so much we don’t know, too. We’ll just have to grin and bear it for the time being,” Shio glances at her phone before her eyes widen, “Ah shit, I forgot about checking out a club this morning. I’ll have to put that off then.”

A while later, Yuki stands, grabbing her shoulder bag whilst doing so, “I’ve gotta jet soon, I have something going on with my mom. If there’s anything else just text me. See you guys on Monday.” She skirts off, quickly going out of sight as she enters the heavy throngs of the crowd.

Ryushi gathers up their trash, “I’m gonna go work on my solution. I’ll get back to you soon!” He tosses their refuse and follows Yuki into the deluge of people.

Shio sighs, leaning back in her chair. She spends about twenty minutes hanging out and people watching before leaving Keyaki, and then finds herself wandering around Maebashi with no end goal in sight.

She ends up at a bridge that crosses over the Tone River, and gazes out from the railing down at the serene water.

“...I wish this all made sense.”

Pixie chimes in, “ _If it’s any consolation, parts of it don’t make sense to me either!_ ”

Shio closes her eyes and rests her forehead on her arms, “Thanks, I guess…” She looks back at the river, trying to push her own doubts away while she subconsciously fiddles with her locket again.

She goes into a trance as she watches, and it’s only when someone speaks to her a while later that she breaks out of it.

“I’ve always liked this spot. It catches a nice breeze most of the time.”

Shio recoils and loses her footing, stumbling and catching herself on the rail, albeit awkwardly, with her elbow banging into it. The other person laughs, covering their mouth, “Oh shit, sorry. I didn’t think you were that out of it.”

As Shio straightens back up, she takes stock of the other woman; about her age, with the right side of her head shaved down, and the rest a bright magenta, tumbling down the other side of her face and halting around her shoulder. She’s clad in a black dress along with a denim jacket, boots, and a couple piercings in her right eyebrow. Shio processes that the woman is very attractive, and gives off an aura of great confidence.

“I-it’s OK, I was just...thinking.” Shio mumbles the last bit, rubbing her elbow.

“Must be some pretty intense thoughts you’re thinking there,” the woman puts her back to the railing and throws her head back, closing her eyes and letting the wind tickle her hair. “But this is the place to think ‘em.”

“Seems so…” Shio’s eyes dart to the woman, frozen in her pose with a small smile on her face. A small amount of pink makes itself known on her cheeks, and she turns away. 

The pair are silent for a couple minutes, the river quietly moving below them. 

“Well,” the woman begins as she tilts her head forward and pushes off of the railing, “I was only passing by. I’ll leave you to your thoughts, girl. Sorry again for startling you” She gives a small wave and heads off across the bridge, with Shio watching a bit wistfully as she goes. 

It’s only a few hours later, when Shio’s trying to fall asleep, that she bolts upright, “FUCK, I didn’t get her number!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this being a shorter chapter and it being awhile since the last one. Working right now is stressful. And I also...played all of Royal...which I really liked! Platinumed too. I can finally read royal-related fics. Also dammit they made me like Akechi, wtf. 
> 
> The hope for the future is to update on Fridays, but no promises, and to write not necessarily longer chapters but ones that progress time more. Not going to show every single swim practice! 
> 
> I think I might scale back more on which SLs are in the actual fic. The characters will definitely be introduced for several of them, but overall I would rather develop the main plot. It remains to be seen if they actually will be written or not; as time goes on, if there's enough want for them, I'll consider it.
> 
> Thanks again for reading! I have to go stop myself from doing Royal NG+ and importing Scramble.


	8. Creating a Solution

**Sunday, April 19th, 2020**

Before starting on her weekend homework, Shio decides she should find a gym in the nearby area to start really building herself back up. While she’s still in better shape and stronger than most women her age (especially with the boost she’s found since she awakened to Suijin), she knows she hasn’t hit her ceiling yet. Fighting demons and intense swimming several times a week won’t be enough; she’ll need to engage in some activity every day.

Her aunt suggests a couple of places she’s frequented in the past, which is how Shio finds herself at a place somewhat near GU’s campus, a newly refurbished facility that’s got a lot of fancy equipment, and a surprisingly low membership fee. 

After about an hour of various exercises, she starts to head for the showers when she notices a small crowd has formed near the weights section. She meanders over to see the group is watching someone bench-pressing near the corner of the gym. 

“Isn’t that him, Mikoto Goda?”

“Yeah, he’s supposed to be one of the frontrunners for the All-Japan Judo Championship this year. He’s only nineteen but has already done really well against people a few years his senior.”

“Isn’t there some shit going around about his division though? I thought he’s supposed to switch or something weird like that.”

“Don’t ask me. God, I wish I was that talented…”

Shio watches the judoka for a second before turning back to continue on to the showers. 

Once she’s cleaned up and changed into clothes that aren’t drenched in sweat, Shio stops by the sinks and washes her hands. Her still-somewhat-wet hair looks like a pile of seaweed on her head, and she throws some cold water on her face to give herself a bit of a wakeup call, the mirror getting wet in the process. 

“Ah shit,” she says to no one, reaching out to wipe off the water she got on it, not thinking. Her hand passes through, ripples emanating from where she crossed over. Her eyes widen and she retracts her limb quickly, and then jumps as the door opens behind her to reveal the distorted image of Mikoto entering the locker room.

Pivoting, Shio gets a better look at them; Mikoto is a little over six feet tall, and is noticeably in shape. Their dark blue, almost black hair is short and spiky, with the sides shaved down; they’re somewhat tanned as well, and give off a brusque attitude.

The judoka looks up as they enter, and frowns slightly at the sight of Shio looking at them in front of the mirror. She reddens and looks away, seeing that the ripples have just faded off the reflective surface, but it still looks a little funny.

Her gym bag is on her back in a second, and she quickly vacates the room, speed walking out of the building. “ _Shit shit, I need to be more careful._ ”

Back in the bathroom, Mikoto walks over and places their hand on the mirror, running their fingers over it.

* * *

**Monday, April 20th, 2020**

After their classes let up, Ryushi texts Shio to meet at the Kanzato Lab. Once they’re in the bathroom, Ryushi hands her a pair of wired headphones. “Here, take these.”

The green-haired woman accepts them, “Uh, alright.”

“I need you to go over to the AR, and once you’re there pass the end of the cord back to me. If this works, I think my plan might bear fruit.”

Shio shrugs her shoulders and complies, slipping through the mirror. She hands the end of the wire back through the mirror, and feels Ryushi take it from her grasp. After a second, the cord jerks slightly, and music flows into Shio’s ears.

Clambering back over, she gives her companion a thumbs-up. “Worked fine.”

Ryushi claps his hands together, “Sweet. Then the only thing remaining is checking out the hardware over there, and securing equipment.” He steps up to the mirror, “C’mon, I’ll need your help with this too.”

In the AR, Ryushi drags her outside, and points at the roof of the building, where a worn antenna tower sits. “We have to get up there.”

Shio looks between the antenna and the black-haired boy, who’s pulling out a length of rope. “I figured you’d be able to, and then could pull me up.”

Shio’s hands move to her hips, “What makes you think I can?”

He shrugs, “You’re cool, the leader, and the dependable one.”

“...Fair.” She invokes Suijin, and looks at her goddess, “Any way you could get me up on the roof?”

Suijin nods with a smug look, “ _Please, that is a simple task. Simply stand by me and will yourself to be one with my power._ ” Shio does as suggested, and finds her body feeling light. She crouches and kicks off, easily jumping with her Persona until they’re on top of the building. 

Blood rushes through her head and she stumbles, catching herself on the antenna. “Whoa...now that’s cool…” She shakes her head and notices Ryushi looking up with his jaw dropped, and laughs. “Come on up, little boy!”

Ryushi reddens and grits his teeth, evoking Kuraokami. The two get in a similar stance and jump higher than what a normal human can accomplish, but not nearly enough to reach Shio. She ties the rope around a secure piece of the roof and throws it down to Ryushi, who climbs while pouting. 

Shio offers her hand as he reaches the top, which he grasps tightly as she helps him up. “I guess I need to train more or something to get more in sync with Kuraokami.” He climbs over to the antenna, and begins inspecting it and the electrical box attached to it.

Shio keeps an eye out for encroaching demons as he works, and also takes the opportunity to attempt more agility moves with Suijin. Half-an-hour later, Ryushi calls for her to come back, a smile on his face.

“I think this is going to work,” he begins at Shio’s arrival, gesturing to the tower. “I’ll need to mess with the equipment in our Kanzato Lab and run a line with some power, but with any luck my Ashen Scanner is going to work.”

He sits and pulls out an old laptop, “This thing is ancient but it’s got enough processing power to handle the job. The basic premise of this thing is going to be that I’ll reverse engineer this antenna into a tower that accepts signals instead of sending them out, then wire it down through to our side to this computer to translate the signal, and then use our side’s antenna to send that broadcast out to a program I’ll install on our phones, alerting us when another AD’s appeared. If the headphone cord worked, I’m pretty sure other cables would too”

“...Dude, how did you even come up with this?” Shio asks in awe. 

Ryushi closes the laptop and shrugs, “I’m here on an engineering scholarship, if that answers your question.”

“OK, but I do see one flaw, at least in the logic of it; how are you getting the actual data of the ADs themselves?”

“Oh simple. So, there shouldn’t really be anything broadcasting signals right now, right? The only things on this side are the demons. I checked and there’s a very uncommon frequency that originated from where we defeated that AD, and it began being sent out that day. This will all be pretty ramshackle, but it just might work.”

Shio shakes her head in amazement. “Man, you’re a genius. Do you need me to do anything?”

Ryushi puts his backpack on, “Not today. We’ll need to come back on Thursday and see if we can scavenge some tech from one of the buildings around here. They’ll be antiques but what I’m doing isn’t really high-tech, more just...taped together.” He scratches his face, “Now, uh, do you mind if you help me down? I’m actually kinda afraid of heights.”

* * *

Upon their return, Ryushi invites Shio to grab a bite to eat. They end up buying some takeout soba noodles and eat at a nearby park.

Once he finishes, Ryushi sets his bowl down and wipes his mouth before looking at Shio. “It’s occurred to me that...I don’t really know you that well. And I guess the same goes as well for you knowing me.”

Shio tilts her head, “I guess not. We’ve been so focused on the whole demon thing that the stuff after formalities kinda fell through.” She takes Ryushi’s bowl and tosses it with her empty one into a trash receptacle before sitting back down, “Well, am I going first, or you?”

Ryushi chuckles, brushing some hair out of his eyes, “Eh, I brought it up, only fair that I do.” Despite the laugh, he seems hesitant, and sighs before starting, “You know Yuki and I are both locals; she and I met in middle school and have been pretty much best friends since. I’m...not on the best terms with my parents. I actually got a scholarship for high school too, and then that’s carried on to being here. That’s really the only thing they’ve cared about with me...it’s not like they, y’know, raised me poorly, or neglected me. They just felt..distant, besides school. So I’m happy to not be living with them right now, even if it’s...kinda scary.” He rubs his face, “Sorry, I don’t really talk about this stuff that much...it kinda just spilled out.”

“Dude, it’s fine, speak your heart out if you need to, if you trust me. If not, that’s cool too. We’re all dealing with our own shit.” Shio says comfortingly. “As for me...I moved here because I felt like I had to get away from Tokyo. My old school wasn’t working out like I’d hoped it would, and even though Tokyo is, well, Tokyo, I felt a bit trapped there. So here I am.” She fingers her locket, glancing downward. She opens her mouth to speak again, but then closes it. 

They sit in silence for a couple minutes, then Ryushi lets out a breath he’d been holding in. “If you ever wanna get together, just hit me up. I love Yuki, but spending time with only the same person for several years means you hardly ever move out of your comfort zone. If anyone can respect me while also helping me break out of those chains, I think it’s you.” He smiles again and offers his hand, which Shio shakes.

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Death Arcana…**

As their hands fall, Ryushi yawns. “Whew, I’m gonna head home. I have to compile a list of the components we’ll be searching for on Thursday, anyway. I’ll see you then!”

* * *

**Tuesday, April 21st, 2020**

As she’s walking down the street toward her aunt’s apartment, Shio passes by an alley and does a double-take; towards its end sits another door to the Velvet Room, albeit unguarded this time.

Igor nods at Shio upon her entrance, “Welcome. Since your last visit, you’ve managed to form new bonds that will grant you great strength on your Journey.”

“You mean the Social Links, right?” She asks, sitting down, “That’s what that was when I heard Agatha’s voice?”

His smile grows, “Exactly. Each is linked to one of the twenty-two main Arcanas, which reveal nearly everything of this world. If you manage to create these pacts with them all, you will undoubtedly garner incredible power, that which may even save this world from its own corruption. There are great forces that will oppose you, and it will take all your will to overcome them.”

“ _This guy needs to get better at his pep talks,_ ” Shio says in her mind (Pixie laughs). 

“With that in mind-I believe Agatha wanted to speak with you. She is somewhere in the garden tending to her plants, and I’m sure would be delighted if you’d take the time to find her.”

Shio stands and bows, “Thank you, Igor-san.”

It takes about fifteen minutes to find Agatha in the maze that is the Velvet Room’s garden, but eventually she encounters the gardener patting some soil in an unused plot on one of the many winding paths. Agatha looks up and smiles at her approach, “Hey! You should come help, it’d be fun!”

Shio crouches next to the attendant, “What’re you doing?”

“I’m cultivating this earth so it’s ready for my new seedlings,” Agatha purrs as she dumps some more fertilizer in the plot, “Could you grab that trowel and start mixing this in with me?”

The Fool obliges, and in a little bit the spot looks ready to be seeded. “Gardening is so fun, it’s a nice way to keep busy, and it fills you with a lot of satisfaction to see your work bear fruit. Sometimes literally!” Agatha giggles as her own joke.

“Did you grow everything in here?” Shio questions, looking around the greenhouse and its menagerie of flora and fauna.

“Not all of it, no, a lot of it is from the reflection of your heart, silly. But there were some spots like this, so I’ve been taking advantage of them.” She finishes covering the last hole and gives the older girl a cheery smile, “You’re really awesome, having all this come from inside you! I’m glad I got you as my guest!”

“Your guest? You mean I’m your first?”

Agatha nods, “Remember what my sis said? I’m technically not done training yet, though I should be ready soon! We usually serve one guest in particular for our tenure here before performing additional duties for the master. So you’re mine!” She finishes her work by grabbing a watering can and sprinkling some life on the plot.

The two stand and admire the results. “That was a nice, quiet thing to do. I’ll help again if you’ll have me.”

Agatha beams, “What, of course! That’d be fantastic, thank you!” She gasps, “That reminds me, I totally forgot! I wanted to talk to you about something!” 

They relocate to a bench nearby, where Agatha unlatches the heavy tome from her side and sets it on her lap. “While the master is the one who’ll be performing fusions for you, I’ll be in charge of keeping stock of all the Personas you’ve created, and providing assistance on making them better too!” She opens the book and flips through the pages quickly, showing countless pages with different forms on them. “Look, you have so much potential within you! I’m really excited to get to work soon!”

The gardener stores the book again and laces her fingers together, “So, I was wondering if I could maybe just hang out with you from time to time, besides doing, for lack of a better word, work stuff? We could grow stuff, but I could also tell you neat stuff about Personas, or maybe you could take me to your world and do human things!” Her eyes shine with excitement, “My sister spoke so highly of it, I have to see it too!”

Shio laughs, “Alright, sure, we can do that, sounds like a good time. I could stand to know more about all this, anyway.” She feels a warm, protective feeling as Agatha pumps her fists in the air, and hears the own girl’s voice echoing through her mind once again.

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Star Arcana…**

“Hang on, your mouth didn’t move. How was it that you just spoke in my head?”

Agatha winks, “Pre-recorded message, duh.”

* * *

**Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020**

**Akari:** I have to go in super early today, so you’ll be by yourself for dinner, just FYI!

Shio looks at the text and drops her phone next to her before letting out a powerful yawn. For some reason the day had turned out to be particularly exhausting, with a minor heat wave coming in out of nowhere, and her homework taking a while to complete. It’s only at 8 at night that she’s finally done for the day, and turns the news on to have something in the background while she makes dinner.

“ _In other news, the United Nations’ new climate panel has put forth plans to remap their goals for 2050 by the end of the year. Scientists have stated that the current plan isn’t going to make enough of an impact, and that humanity needs to adapt to changes much more quickly to have an impact on reducing our effects on the environment. Several western leaders have rebuked this claim…_ ”

She bares her teeth in disgust at the foreign leader’s dismissal of science, and turns the TV off, opting to put some music on instead. 

* * *

**Thursday, April 23rd, 2020**

Shio hits the gym at 6 AM, her body yelling at her to go back to sleep. She manages to shrug off her sleepiness and get a fair amount of routines done before it’s about time to wash the sweat off and head for class.

As she comes out of the shower stall, changed and tying her wet hair back into a ponytail, she nearly bumps into Mikoto Goda, who manages to halt before colliding with her.

Shio freezes, remembering what they saw in their last encounter. Mikoto blinks, “Excuse me,” they move past Shio, heading into one of the other stalls, the lock clicking into place.

The girl raises an eyebrow, sure that they were about to confront her about the mirror. Thanking her luck, she slips out of the bathroom and heads to class.

* * *

On their third proper trip into the Ashen Realm, the Knights discover several important things.

First, demons drop money when defeated, and occasionally also relinquish healing potions and various materials.

“Wait, what,” Shio says in disbelief as she looks at where the Pyro Jack disintegrated, leaving behind a pile of a couple hundred yen. “Did that always happen?”

Yuki peeks over her shoulder and shrugs as Haniyasu-Hime blasts a Bicorn, “Maybe? I was too distracted by the whole ‘I summoned a god’ thing to notice.”

Second, that it isn’t feasible for them to defend themselves with just their fists and feet.

Even with her decent physique, a kick from Yuki into a Makami (this one significantly smaller and less powerful, but still annoying) does little to the creature, who retaliates with a blast of wind that knocks her down and requires Shio to switch gears and get Pixie to zap it with a Zio spell.

Third, with practice, they all could sync up with their Personas to get the mobility that Shio had achieved with Suijin, though the Fool could only do it with her initial Persona; any other failed to give her that ability.

And finally, the way to really get into a conversation with a demon is apparently to knock it on its ass and then whisper sweet nothings to it.

Targeting weaknesses, the trio brings down another Pyro Jack, a yellow teardrop-shaped demon named Saki Mitama, and a cute little cat who Shio insists on calling ‘Puss in Boots,’ which doesn’t go over well with the demon.

“Dude come on, really? That cat’s got nothing on me. I’m a fierce demon, m’row!” The Cait Sith brandishes his sword weakly from the ground.

“Oh my god, you’re so _scary_ ,” she says adoringly, “And I must say, I love your hat.”

The cat pauses, “...you like my hat?”

“Heck yeah I do. It’s quite dashing.”

“No one’s ever liked my hat before, everyone else made fun of me for it,” the demon says, standing up with an elated smile. “Y’know, you’re pretty cool. Can I tag along?”

And that’s how Shio ends up yelling “Come, _PUSS_!” later.

* * *

A few hours into their excursion, after ransacking their fourth building for supplies, Ryushi declares he has enough to build his transmitter. All three of their packs are stuffed with various bits of technology, the spoils of their fights, and anything else Ryushi pointed at and yelled “WE NEED THAT!”

Shio came away with her own special haul; half a dozen new personalities stirring in her mind, itching to have their turn in the spotlight. It’d take her days to learn how to properly tune them all out; Incubus was particularly boisterous, screaming about getting ‘action’. 

“If all goes well, I think I’ll be able to finish by next Thursday,” Ryushi states as they trek back to the Kanzato Lab, “I’ll head over this Saturday to do most of the gruntwork, and then get the app running at home. Fingers crossed it all comes together.”

“If you need help with anything, just let us know,” Yuki says, adjusting her backpack. “In the meantime, I think we should see if we can procure weapons or something. If there’s an enemy that we can take out without expending the energy of our Personas, we should take advantage of that. Plus, I assume they’ll only get stronger, so we can’t rely on the little damage we did today.”

Shio nods in agreement, “I’ll see if I can get that rectified. It wouldn’t hurt to have armor too, come to think of it. I’ll put the cash we got towards it.”

* * *

**Friday, April 24th, 2020**

Even when she’s in the real world, Shio finds that she can have different Personas equipped, and having them at the forefront of her mind subtly changes her day-to-day mannerisms. Cait Sith makes her feel a bit adventurous yet insecure, while Saki Mitama pushes her to talk to people more (and lament her failure with the magenta-haired punk). Suijin’s presence is the “normal” one, where she feels most like herself and not pushed from outside influences.

“ _I guess this all makes sense, from what a ‘persona’ is in psychology_ ,” Shio thinks as she heads home for the weekend. “ _Gods, you all are going to drive me crazy._ ”

“ _That’s the plan,_ ” Preta laughs sinisterly.

“ _Alright, you’re going to be the first to go,_ ” Shio retorts vindictively as she strides down the alley towards the Velvet Room.

* * *

Igor summons a chair for Agatha to sit in next to Shio, allowing the gardener to share her tome with her and all the possible fusions at her disposal.

“Wow...um, well, what would you recommend?”

Agatha places a finger on her chin, “Mmm...well, since you have a bond relating to Death, it couldn’t hurt to summon Mandrake. Not that powerful on its own, but with your strength and the relationship you’ve started, it should gain a boost of power. You could do something with a higher level of prowess like Silky, buuuut without a bond there’s no real advantage besides expanding your roster. It’s your call.”

Igor chuckles at their conversation before offering, “The more you use our services, the more opportunities will present themselves before you. As you gain more Personas and further fulfill your destiny, we will allow you to partake in new forms of fusion, as well as other ways to enhance your abilities.”

After some deliberation, Shio wistfully fuses away Pixie with Incubus to get Succubus (“Oh Gods what the hell is wrong with humanity”), and delightfully expunges Preta with another demon to get Kodama.

“If you ever want to get back a Persona with the same abilities you gave it, just talk to me! I’ll summon them, if you have enough yen.”

Shio’s eyes narrow. “Uh, why? What could you need yen for?”

Agatha giggles, “How else am I going to get them to come out of the void and come here? Demons are greedy.”

“...Oh, OK, yeah that checks out.”

* * *

**Saturday, April 25th, 2020**

On Saturday, Shio finally remembers to check out the Ecological Preservation Society; she fast walks all the way to campus, and gets there just before the meeting starts.

The club is held in one of the smaller lecture halls, and about thirty people are present in the theater seats. In front of the projector are a couple individuals who identify themselves as the President and Treasurer.

“I see we have a few new faces today, so I’ll reiterate what we talked about in our meeting last weekend. Right now our efforts are centered on campaigning for GU and Maebashi to be more conscientious of their own effects on the environment, as well as petitioning for the old Kanzato Lab to be torn down in favor of a greenhouse, as the school lacks anything of the sort. A number of our members are working with Maebashi’s local government to brighten up the parks around the city, including re-introducing some plant life that urbanization killed off in the last few decades.” The president ends his speech with a sigh, “Our VP would be able to speak more in detail about this matter, but she’s absent...again.”

Shio purses her lips at the mention of the lab; she knows it’d be great to have a greenhouse on campus, but that they need the lab for now to have a safe way into the AR, and for Ryushi’s transmitter. Thankfully, the president reiterates that the demolition isn’t scheduled till September anyway.

Once the meeting concludes, most of the members shuffle out, while Shio heads down to a table the treasurer set up with some more information about how to get involved.

She’s just about finished perusing the flyers when her ears perk up at the sound of sprinting footsteps, and she turns as the doors to the theater burst open. “I’m here! I’m...here.”

The newcomer takes stock of there being maybe a dozen people in the room, and that they’re all milling about chatting instead of doing anything that looks like an actual meeting. She hangs her head, her magenta hair bouncing as she does, and scratches the back of her neck. “Shit…”

The president crosses his arms and gives her a disappointed glare as she descends the steps down toward the front. “H-hey Nakamara-san.”

Nakamara sighs, “Misaki, I made you my vice president this year because you’re so devoted to our ideals, but you can’t even bother showing up to a single meeting on time in the first two weeks?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I got caught up in some things, and...I’m sorry.” She bows, “I’ll try not to be late again.”

Nakamara looks a little forlorn at her response, but then gains a small smile, “That’s all I ask. I know if you show up, the younger guys will be really motivated to help out. I need to head out soon, so would you mind staying for a bit to answer any questions anyone has, and pack up the table? That’d be really helpful.”

Misaki straightens up, determined. “Of course, thank you, Nakamara-san!”

As Nakamara leaves, the vice president pivots to Shio, the closest person to her. “Hi, I’m-wait a sec, do I know you?”

Shio’s eyes widen as she properly recognizes her now. The woman is dressed in a white blouse and black skirt today, but her hair’s a dead match for the mysterious encounter she had a week ago. She opens her mouth to respond, but Misaki snaps her fingers before she can.

“Oh, we met on the bridge, right? Lost-in-thoughts girl!” Misaki’s face lights up in recognition.

“H-ha, yeah, that was me. It’s a pleasure to properly meet you, Misaki-senpai.” Shio bows low to hide her pink cheeks, “My name is Shio Kiyomizu.”

Misaki laughs and waves her hand in front of her face, “No no please, don’t call me senpai, it’s weird. I’m a junior, so I’m probably older than you, but everyone feels the same age in college. It’s different here. I’m Misaki Hasegawa, it’s nice to meet you, Kiyomizu-chan.” She extends her hand, which Shio shakes a bit awkwardly.

“Glad to see you seem to be invested in cherishing what the Earth gives us, too. I should probably introduce myself to the other members, so I’ll see you around!” She gives a curt wave and heads off.

Shio swallows and walks out of the room, breathing a sigh of relief as she exits. 

Saki Mitama whispers in her ear, “ _You should have said more_.”

“ _Oh no wonder I was a nervous wreck, I forgot I had you out!_ ” Shio groans, hanging her head.

* * *

“I totally choked,” Shio laments to Yuki as she picks up a plate of sushi off the belt. “That’s twice now. I know I’ll see her again, but man I feel lame.”

Yuki swallows a roll, “Hey, c’mon, you just said it yourself, you’ve met this girl twice. It’s a bit early to be going in that direction. Give it time and you’ll figure out if you really like her, and if she really likes you.”

Shio tosses a roll of tuna in her mouth. “Yeah, you’re right. I just haven’t been this struck since middle school. Heck, I haven’t at all really since then. I was too focused on school.”

“Been there. With school, I mean. I don’t think I hung out with anyone besides Ryu the entire last year of high school. Hey, I think that was the last plate of tuna, can I have some?” The Fool offers her plate. “Thanks.”

“Should I feel guilty that we’re here eating sushi and Ryushi is working on his project? I feel like a bad friend.”

Yuki laughs, “Naw, if he needed our help he’d let us know. He’s like that, usually. And I’m going to get takeout for him anyway.” She’s silent for a minute before speaking again, “Plus, I wanted to talk to you myself.” 

The brunette folds her hands together in her lap, “Ryu kinda already told me what you told him, so I felt a bit guilty.”

Shio waves her hand, “Eh that’s fine. I didn’t really tell him anything earth-shattering.”

Yuki chuckles, “Yeah, that seemed to be the case...regardless, I still think I owe it to you to tell you about myself too, since we’re embarking on this...adventure together? I don’t even know what word I’d use for it.”

She pauses again. “...I honestly don’t know why I’m making a big deal out of this, I’m not special at all. I’ve lived here my entire life, and the only noteworthy thing I’ve done is gotten named captain of my baseball team. We’re not affiliated with a school, it’s a prefecture league.”

“Hey, that’s something,” Shio replies, eating a piece of eel. “...is there something wrong? Anything bothering you?”

Yuki picks her chopsticks back up, “Naw, it’s...it’s nothing. Just a lot on my mind, with the team and all…they’re all counting on me...”

“Well, I was co-captain for my track team in the last year of high school. If you need pointers, I’d be happy to give you some. And moral support, of course.”

Yuki looks at her and smiles, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Chariot Arcana…**

The two finish eating a little later, and head out, Yuki clutching a plastic bag with their leftovers. 

“See you next week,” Shio waves, heading in the opposite direction from Yuki.

* * *

Akari looks up from her spot on the couch as her niece enters the flat. “Hey. How’re things going so far, you adjusting well?”

“Mhm. Met a few people, swim team is going well, and joined this environmental club this morning.” She sets her backpack down and plops into a chair, “I’m gonna try and volunteer every week or so with stuff around the city.”

“Look at you with the initiative. You really are just like Daichi. Back when he was in school, I swear that he came home every week telling us about something new he was involved in. Student council, volunteering, a new sport. He was always trying new things.”

There’s a nostalgic, sad look in Akari’s eyes, and Shio isn’t sure if she should inquire more about her father or not, for both her own and her aunt’s sake.

“ _...Akari-san...you really miss him too, huh?_ ” is what she wants to say, but the words get stuck in her throat. Instead they both act like the conversation’s ended, eyes glued to the TV showing a rerun of that morning’s talk show.

Shio eventually bades her aunt good night and heads to bed. Once there, she turns on some quiet, chill music to relax to, and lies on her with her eyes closed, one hand twirling a piece of her hair.

“ _Tomorrow, I need to try and find a place to procure weapons, and hopefully armor. Hm, Yuki would actually probably be fine with a baseball bat...I assume she has her own, though maybe she’d want a better one...Ryushi I’ll need to ask. But I’ve got no idea what to use...I was never good at kendo, and I dunno about anything really heavy._ ” She sighs, “ _I’ll just have to take what I can get._ ”

Outside her room, Shio can hear Akari moving around, and then hears the front door open and close. 

“ _Right, her work week has started again...I should offer to take her to Endo’s tomorrow before she leaves, to pay her back for the first visit. Everything’s been happening so fast, it’s hard to keep track of it all._ ”

“ _Even though she’s been really warm and welcoming, I don’t think she’s ready to open up to me about dad...can’t really blame her, I’m not willing to do so either._ ”

Shio unclasps her locket and gathers it and the chain up in her fist, holding it tight. Her eyes begin to droop after a little bit, and finally she manages to lose consciousness.

* * *

In the dream, Shio has Suijin’s arm blades strapped to her, and instinctively knows how to handle them.

She’s on a street in what her mind processes as Maebashi, but it doesn’t have any distinguishing features. Even if it did, she probably wouldn’t be able to see them because of the fog.

It’s extremely thick, coating the world, which coupled with the eerie silence makes it feel like a horror movie. Her dream avatar walks down the road, her footsteps heavy on the pavement.

Soon, a figure emerges in the fog, though it too is cloaked in mystery. They’re tall, at least a foot more than Shio, emanating ash like an AD, although at a much higher intensity. Shio couldn’t make out anything about them, except the pinpricks of red light where their eyes should be. 

The ashen adversary produces a sword, rusted and jagged, and takes a battle stance across from her. Shio extends her blades, and charges forward, bringing her devices up to block an overhead strike. The figure adjusts quickly, kicking Shio in the stomach while their blades are locked.

The girl skids on the concrete before falling over, leaving a large scrape on her right forearm. She ignores it and bounces back, attempting to come at her opponent from opposite directions, one at the torso, the other at their leg from the other side, to catch them off guard.

Instead of blocking, they dodge effortlessly, moving to Shio’s left and ducking underneath the blade, before swiping at her chest. The sword catches her in the side, leaving a large, ugly gash coated with rust. Shio screams in agony and collapses, tears streaming down her face. 

The ashen person grabs her by the hair and holds her at their eye level, letting her blood travel down her side and into a growing pool on the ground.

She’s unable to look away from the featureless face, unable to stop staring into their red eyes, her own filled with terror.

Her adversary laughs darkly, and speaks with a voice that she can’t define except for being full of pure malice and violence, “You really aren’t meeting my expectations. At this rate, this won’t be fun at all. I’ll need you to step it up.” Before she can respond, the figure runs her through with their sword. “Sweet dreams, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mikoto uses they/them pronouns! They do not identify as male!!  
> As someone who gets misgendered constantly in her day-to-day life, writing that part kinda hurt lol.
> 
> The Persona Sync is inspired by Trinity Soul, an anime that has good music and neat ideas, and Akihiko is there. I tell myself I'll rewatch it at least once a year.
> 
> I originally had Yuki being on a track team, before I realized that meant another Chariot track member...sooooo that had to be changed. I certainly have similar archetypes, but I want these characters struggles to be original. 
> 
> The All-Japan Judo Championships actually take place in April, but for the sake of this story they're gonna be in the fall.
> 
> HE IS FOREVER PYRO JACK. jack o' lantern is a lame name
> 
> Oh, I should mention that in terms of this story, Nuclear and Psy skills have been entirely replaced with Water and Earth. I love that they had them in P5, but they don't work for the themes of this story.
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima  
> Star-Agatha


	9. Armament

**Sunday, April 26th, 2020**

It’s 2 AM when Shio wakes up from the nightmare, drenched in cold sweat with a panicked expression on her face. She bolts from the bed and barely makes it to the toilet before she pukes up her dinner.

“Fuck,” she gets out before she retches, hunkered over the porcelain bowl. She thanks the gods that Akari doesn’t come out, and stays there for about twenty minutes, occasionally feeling the urge to hurl again.

Come 3 AM, Shio’s back in bed, though unable to drift back to sleep. Tossing and turning, she replays the events of the dream over and over. Something about the ashen person feels uncomfortably familiar, but the reason for the feeling eludes her. When she manages to re-enter the land of the unconscious, her dreams are still fogbound, yet peaceful.

* * *

Around 11, the green-haired woman searches online for anywhere in Maebashi that could possibly sell weapons of some kind. Most of the results aren’t what she’s looking for; places that sell anime/manga merchandise, sports shops, and department stores for some reason. She’s about to give up when she finds a listing for a store that claims to have “weapons and tools from all ages in Japanese history.”

“Well, that’s more promising than anything else I’ve seen,” she mutters to herself, typing the address into her phone and shutting off her tablet.

* * *

Behind the counter at the front of the store is a man in his late sixties, Shio assumes, the only hair on his head being a dark goatee that’s streaked with gray. His attire consists of a samurai’s robe that looks just as old as everything else in the store. As Shio enters, his eyes dart up to her and immediately give her a feeling of being analyzed. It’s like when Igor looks at her, but instead of being contemplated as for her potential, she feels like she’s being sized up for a fight.

“No swinging anything around. Anything you break you buy,” he states sternly, before going back to what he was doing before, which Shio now notices; sharpening a knife with a small whetstone.

The shop’s fairly cramped, with four rows of shelves covered with items of all shapes and sizes, a fair number of them with a fine coating of dust, as well as a variety of weapons hung on every inch of the walls.. 

**Shio:** Well. I found some sketchy place that sells antique-ish weapons. Gonna see what they have

 **Shio:** Hey Yuki, would u wanna use a bat for a weapon?? If so u already got one or should I get one for u?? Also Ryu u got any preferences??

Her phone vibrates a few minutes later with a response.

**Yuki:** oh. Duh. why didn’t I think of that. Mm no worries then for me, I can get one easily.

 **Ryu:** Eh surprise me. I won’t be good w it anyway 

After a bit of searching she finds a collection of throwing knives that are in mostly good condition. Nothing else sticks out to her for Ryushi, so she scoops them up. The whole time, she can feel the shop owner looking her way, though each time she turns in his direction his eyes are elsewhere.

The rest of her search, now for herself, proves fruitless. Swords are a definite no, and anything unique she sees, like a mace or nunchuk, doesn’t scream her style either.

Resigning herself to looking somewhere else, Shio heads to the desk at the front and places the set of knives on the counter. “I’m gonna go with these.”

The man sits up, glancing at her intended purchase. “A wise choice...these are the only throwing knives I own that aren’t replicas.” He looks at her, “But for what purpose are you purchasing them?”

“ _Fuck, I assumed this guy wouldn’t ask questions._ ” Shio breathes in, “Does that really matter?”

His gaze narrows, “Of course it does. I can’t sell my goods to children like you who may use them for the wrong reasons. I vet everyone who comes into my shop, because my items deserve to be in the proper hands.”

“ _Fuck it, why not_....I’m buying them for my friend to help fight demons.” Shio answers.

The samurai looks at her for a few long seconds, then solemnly nods his head, “Hm, a noble pursuit.”

“ _Yeah, that’s right, laugh at me old ma-wait._ ” Her eyes widen to comical proportions, “You believe me?”

“Of course,” he states as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Those infernal creatures seem to crop up every few years. This isn’t the first time I’ve sold tools to help fend them off.”

Shio isn’t sure if the man is senile or not, but he at least seems like he’ll sell her what she wants, so she goes with it. “Thank you, it’s...a great struggle for myself and my friends, and we need all the help we can get.”

“Hmph, I expect in return you prevent them from having their way with our world. My old bones aren’t what they used to be, otherwise I’d offer to assist you in your pursuits. Now, were you not looking for something else? It took quite awhile for you to abandon your search and come over to me.”

“Oh, er...well, nothing really stood out to me. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, honestly.”

“Hmm…” He strokes his goatee, and then stands, cringing as he does, and hobbles over to a cabinet he has in the corner behind the counter. Shio sees him withdraw a black box about a foot in length, with a lock on it. The samurai sets the box down on the counter, twists the key in, and pushes it towards her. 

Inside is a short rod of about ten inches, made of black material, polished to a fine sheen, with a small button near the middle.

Shio removes it hesitantly, and looks at the samurai, who smirks and nods. She presses the button and jumps as the rod extends either direction several feet, forming a long onyx staff.

“A master smith made that for me some years ago, for my then disciple to use. The young man passed away soon afterward, and I have kept it safe, waiting for its rightful owner. I sense a drive in you, young one-an unflinching devotion to pursuing your goal, whatever it may be. You say you have no experience, but that simply means you have untapped potential, and that drive will push you to learn. I’ve been waiting for a final apprentice to close out my twilight years, and it may be sudden, but I’m willing to take you on as the last student of the Komeki School of Martial Arts. The name’s Shintaro Komeki.”

“ _This is...really not where I expected our conversation to go, but I definitely need training. This guy might actually be a great asset. And he’s sincere too._ ”

Shio smiles, “That sounds, really great actually. Thank you, my name is Shio Kiyomizu,” she bows, “I look forward to your tutelage, Komeki-sensei. I owe you a great debt.”

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Hierophant Arcana…**

“You will owe no such debt as long as you make my decision to take you on worthwhile. Now, when can I expect you to be available? You’ll need to be free for several hours, to both work at the shop and train. And you had better stay in tip-top shape outside of our time together, I won’t stand for slackers.”

Shio has to think for a moment, “Mm, Sundays are good, as are Monday and Friday night.”

“Very well. I expect you here next Sunday at 10 AM sharp Kiyo-chan.” 

Before she leaves, Komeki lends her a shoulder strap to carry the staff, as well as a special magnet that attaches to her belt, letting her carry her new weapon in its disengaged form conveniently.

**Wednesday April 29th, 2020**

Most of Shio’s swim practices have gone well so far. She herself is excelling at her drills and routines, and several of the other new recruits aren’t far behind her. 

After rinsing herself of chlorine and other chemicals, the swimmer starts to head out before noticing Kotori sitting on a bench in the locker room, alone, looking at her phone with a tired look on her face. At her approach, the captain lifts her head a bit apprehensively before visibly relaxing, “Oh, it’s just you Kiyomizu. Good work out there today, you’re really an inspiration to the other team members, even the senior ones.”

“Thank you, Kotori-san.” Kotori looks back at her phone. 

A moment passes before the captain looks back up. “Hey...do you think I’m doing OK at this?” Her expression is worried, and it comes across as her being more anxious _specifically_ about the fact that she’s worried more than anything else, “It’s just...I somehow moved up to captain this year, and I know I came off as a hardass, but I don’t know if that’s working. I can’t even tell if I’m forcing myself to be like that or not anymore.” 

“I mean, if you want me to be honest Kotori-san, I think you’ve been mostly fine, though I guess a couple girls aren’t used to the more grueling nature of practices like this in general, so they’re kinda thrown off from it. As long as you don’t go off the deep end, I think you’re doing alright. I feel like I’m better every practice with your direction.”

Kotori smiles somewhat ruefully, though she seems honestly grateful. “Thank you. I’ll try to maintain it then.” A pause. “This year is going to be a hard one, so I’m going to depend on you to carry the team to new heights. I know you can from what I’ve seen so far, just keep up with it.”

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Fortune Arcana…**

**Thursday, April 30th, 2020**

Shio finishes her time on the treadmill and steps off, wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow and downing her third bottle of water.

She turns to toss the empty vessel away and jumps; Mikoto Goda had approached her from behind and was now standing a couple feet away. “Hey.”

“Uh, hey. Sorry, I didn’t hear you. I didn’t know anyone else was here, actually,” she gestures to the rest of the gym, which is devoid of life.

“No, it was my bad, I apologize,” they say, bowing their head. “That’s why I came over actually-I was hoping you’d be up for sparring.”

Her heat tilts and eyes grow large in one motion, pupils darting down to their impressive physique. “Uh, me, with you? I dunno, aren’t you, like...an actual fighter, for lack of a better word? I don’t think we’re of the same caliber.”

Their face gains a small smile, “That’s why you’d be perfect-I need to train for unpredictability. All my other opponents are ones I’ve known in-and-out. I’ve seen you here a few days now and I think you’ve got what it takes to show me something new.”

Shio scrunches her face up as she thinks, “Y’know, why not. Alright. It’d be a change of pace from these routines anyway.”

Mikoto nods, pleased, and begins to head away. Shio does a quick jog and walks in step with them, before dawning a look of realization, “Wait, uh, I...don’t know anything about judo.”

Mikoto looks at her, “Who said anything about judo?”

* * *

“I don’t know how to box either,” Shio laments as she slides her headgear on, Mikoto already in the ring. 

“Again, that’s the point-I want someone inexperienced with fighting. With self-defense. I want to see what natural, gut reactions are like, unfiltered by years of training. Trust me, it’ll likely be a good workout for you too.” Mikoto bounces on their feet for a moment and does a couple quick jabs.

Shio climbs into the small ring and raises her gloved hands up in a stance across from the judoka. 

Even though they’re out of their element in terms of the style of combat, Shio can immediately appreciate the years of training that have gone into their reaction time and general technique in combat. It’s all she can do to duck and weave the quick blows coming towards her and try to land a hit to throw her opponent off balance (It’s also all she can do to turn off her instincts to respond to a threat with manifesting a Persona).

The first couple of minutes of the fight are silent, until Mikoto comments as they deliver a jab, “You’re-” contact, recoil, “-actually pretty tough. I didn’t-” grunt, dodge, “-expect this level of adaptability. You make it look effortless.”

“Just because I’m not a professional-” Shio guards an attack, “-doesn’t mean I don’t know how to handle myself in a fight.” 

“ _And it helps that I have a god on my side_ ,” she adds to herself.

The battle continues on for much longer than either anticipated, and it’s only when Shio’s eye catches the time on a wall clock that she freezes and turns white, “Oh shit, I’m sorry, I have class in thirty minutes and I’m not even showered. Shit shit, sorry, we’ll finish this another time!” She hurriedly removes her gear and clambers out of the ring, wincing from some movements.

Mikoto hops out too, and removes their helmet to reveal an apologetic face, “I’m very sorry to have kept you, I really appreciate your time.”

Shio waves her hand as she grabs her bag, “It’s cool, I actually had fun and I’m exhausted, so I think it was worth it! I’ll uh, see you around!”

She rushes away to the showers, leaving Mikoto to sit against the ring and ponder their battle.

* * *

“Knives, huh?” Ryushi says that afternoon, turning the short blades over in his hands. “I have always liked darts.” He puts one between two fingers and mocks flinging it.

“That’s not the same thing,” Yuki states as she practices her swings, smirking. “This was a good idea, Shio-I’m mad I didn’t think of this before.” Her bat is worn and dented from, according to Yuki, a decade of use, but she seems thrilled to put it to new use.

Ryushi slips a couple of the knives into his pack and looks curiously at his leader, “Er, so, what about you?”

Shio decides showing is better than telling, and pulls the rod off her belt. She clicks the trigger and watches their shocked expressions amusedly. For flare, she twirls it once and then slams it into the ground.

“Fuck,” Ryushi gapes, “Why didn’t you get me something that cool?”

“You were non-specific in your text!” 

* * *

For their training, the trio heads back to the outskirts of campus, where they find a pack of Kelpies floating around, throwing insults at any demons (or in their case, Persona users) who are passing by.

“Oh shit, it’s those guys!” the leader neighs, rallying his friends, “Let’s send ‘em packing, we’ll finally get some respect!”

One of the closest horse demons charges directly at Yuki, who does a quick backstep whilst bringing her bat back, and manages to land a blow straight to the middle of its head. The Kelpie whinnies in pain, crashing to the ground, and Yuki pumps her first. 

Shio decides to take on the offensive, unsheathing her staff and charging towards the demons nearest to her. She ducks its headbutt and goes for a jab, which makes contact with the Kelpie’s neck. It yelps and convulses, which throws Shio off balance since her weapon is still lodged in the enemy’s flesh; the momentum twirls her around and sends her crashing into the ashen ground.

The Kelpie recovers and begins to throw out a garu spell, but a knife embeds itself in its neck where Shio’d originally jabbed, and the demon melts away.

“Oh my god how did I do that?!” Ryushi yells, ecstatic at his success but also bewildered. His luck doesn’t last, though, as his next throw misses a Kelpie entirely, and he scrambles to retrieve the knife whilst dodging another garu.

Yuki continually slams home-run style hits on her enemies, though she also goes for some more thuggish moves to vary it up when caught at an awkward angle.

Shio manages to land some better hits later on, but most of her encounters end up with her either being splayed out on the ground or at the very least at a disadvantage; she can’t blame anyone other than herself, as she accepted Komeki’s staff but had failed to train herself properly. She makes a mental note to practice in her free time.

After a couple more misses, Ryushi elects to close the distance between himself and the demons more, as well as go for direct stabs and swipes instead of only throwing. This new strategy mostly works, even if he ends up taking more hits than before.

The pack of Kelpies is eventually vanquished with a final tag-team attack between Yuki and Ryushi. The Knights had previously agreed to avoid using Personas for their fights today in order to better rely on themselves, so while they still have the mental fortitude to fight a lot more, their bodies scream in exhaustion.

Shio lets herself fall to the ground before snapping her fingers to call out Silky, and the maiden casts dia on all three to great effect.

Their scraps for the rest of their session go similarly, disregarding the encounter where they find a powerful skeleton in a bull fighter’s costume challenging them to a duel, which after five minutes of fruitless fighting makes them scramble to retreat from the Matador’s attacks (“Ha, cowards!”).

**Friday, May 1st, 2020**

The crosswalk sign switches to show it’s safe for Shio to cross, so she starts to head across the street to get off campus when she hears a shout behind her. Glancing in the opposite direction reveals Ryushi straight-up _sprinting_ towards her, the boy getting some wide-stares from a number of onlookers.

He skids to a stop as he reaches her and doubles over, grabbing at his chest and gulping down air.

The sign switches back behind Shio, and cars start to move in the background again. “Y’know, if you can’t handle running that much here, I don’t think you’ll last long in the AR.” She reaches into her bag and pulls out a small water bottle from her pack and holds it out.

Ryushi straightens and accepts the offer, downing it quickly. He then wipes his sweaty bangs out of his eyes, “S-sorry, I was about to text you, but then I saw you in the distance, and figured I’d just catch up with you.” 

They turn back to the street, standing side-by-side. Shio doesn’t bother turning her head as she talks, “So, what were you gonna text me about? Something up?”

“Oh! Oh, er, no, I just thought I’d see if you wanted to do something today.” He slides his hands into his pockets, and rocks on his feet as they wait.

“Mm,” in her mind’s eye, the Mokoi she made friends with yesterday dances around and elbows his way past Cait Sith, “ _Oo, oo, you want me out there boss! I’m great for this job._ ” She giggles slightly at Cait Sith throwing a tantrum (“ _I’m running with the boss right nya!_ ”) and nods, “Yeah, sure, let’s do it.”

Cars slow to a stop at the intersection and the sign finally changes again, and they set off across the striped lines. 

* * *

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of ice cream earlier,” Ryushi says as they sit down in a small cafe, “It’s so hot out.”

Shio lets her bag slide off her shoulder to the floor and digs into the cone she went with, “Yeah-” she licks a couple times, “It’s a scorcher alright.”

Ryushi spoons a large bite into his mouth and takes a moment to swallow. “...So, uh, how has it been here so far for you? Everything you hoped it to be?”

Shio can’t help but snort at his phrasing, “Yes, exactly what I envisioned-good schooling, new friends, and-” she lowers her voice, “-fighting demons. Just what I moved here for.”

They laugh together and chat amiably about their classes and the differences in their majors’ approaches to the same subjects. Eventually they toss their refuse and head out together, making their way down the street with no end goal in sight

Ryushi looks sideways at his friend after a couple minutes, “...so, question: does Suijin still talk to you? Is it...often?”

“We don’t have as many conversations as we did the first week, but yeah. It’s kinda cramped up there now,” she sighs, as she allows her attention to drift to her Personas, and sees Cait Sith is again fighting with Mokoi. “I’ve learned to tune them out most of the time, but if I let my mind wander they’ll all make themselves known again. And some of them are more boisterous than others.”

Ryushi chuckles, “Maybe you all should head to family counseling.”

“Or,” Shio laughs darkly, making sure the two arguing Personas are paying attention, “Maybe I should dismiss them. Or fuse them away, for more worthy selves.”

“ _WHAT, NO BOSS. NOT YET WE JUST MET_ ,” Mokoi exclaims worriedly. 

The boy raises one eyebrow, confused, “‘Fuse’?”

“Oh, right, uh...yeah, that’s how I get some new ones. I know this old guy who does it for me.”

Ryushi’s confusion turns to incredulity, “You...know an old man who fuses the demons in your head together?”

“Yeah. He’s really creepy,” she says brightly. 

“...I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.” He looks ahead again, “...the reason I asked about the whole talking thing is because Kuraokami is silent pretty often. He just is kinda...there, silently judging.”

“Well, do you want to talk to him?” Shio asks offhandedly. The idea of a Persona being willingly silent weirds her out somewhat after her experiences with all her new ‘friends’ sans Suijin, who still stayed back respectively.

She’s been reluctant to fuse away Suijin, even though Igor has shown her a number of powerful new allies she could create if she let her initial Persona go. Sure, she could just re-summon her back from the sea of souls via Agatha, but that doesn’t feel right to her. All of her Personas have touched her heart, shaped her in one way or another so far, but Suijin’s a constant presence, a friend. It’s hard to say goodbye to someone like that, even a god.

So hearing that her friend’s only Persona is essentially mute is off-putting to her. She imagines it’s like being in close proximity to someone but never receiving acknowledgement, except it’s unending. 

“...I don’t know. I guess I’m hoping for his approval on...things..but the silence is deafening. Whenever we do speak, I always take the initiative. I just…” his voice quavers, “I wish things were easier than this.”

“This have anything to do with those chains you mentioned before?” Shio questions, concerned.

Ryushi looks incredibly heartened that she cared enough to remember his phrasing, and gives a very small nod, “Mhm. I...don’t really want to talk about that right now though. I just wanna try and forget for today.”

“That’s fine man. I’m here the minute you need to talk, though. Really.” She gives him a cheeky smile and a thumbs up, which elicits laughter in the black-haired youth. 

The two pass by an arcade, which causes Shio to stop and jerk her thumb at it, “Hey, games are good for forgetting shit.”

“Heh, yeah, they are.” The two head in and spend a couple hours playing a host of different games, and then part ways as the sun starts to set.

**Saturday, May 2nd, 2020**

Shio groggily wakes up to her phone buzzing at 7 AM, and after rubbing her eyes sees that it’s Ryushi calling. She falls back on her pillow and answers it. “‘Sup.”

“The transmitter-it works. It went off around 3 AM.” His words are raspy, and his voice breaks, “There’s an AD.”

Shio’s already out of bed and throwing a white shirt on, “Where? Is it far from campus?”

“It’s about thirty minutes away from there, at a TV station. But, er,” Ryushi pauses, “I think we might be too late.”

The girl’s breath hitches as she slides some worn jeans on and she freezes mid-action, “What, why?”

“You should just head outside. Yuki and I will meet you at the Lab.”

“Roger. I’ll call if anything comes up.” Attaching her staff to her belt, she hurries out of the apartment, footsteps echoing through the stairwell as she thunders downward. She’s sure she’ll have woken at least half the building with her antics, but she pushes the guilt from her mind; there are more important matters to worry about.

Once she crashes through the door and stumbles outside, she completely understands why Ryushi thinks their efforts for today might be in vain.

The hairs on the back of her neck prick up at the familiar sight in front of her; an impossible fog covers the street, thicker than what should be possible. The city’s eerily quiet, and that’s when she realizes that there are no cars running. The fog has stopped the city and its people in their tracks, the change too great for them to easily adapt. Finally, a sound hits her eardrums; a siren, far off in the distance.

She makes a break for campus, her heart pounding in her ears.

* * *

Mikoto Goda is in their apartment, washing their face over the sink. Since last night, they’ve been feeling strange in their stomach, like a gut feeling that’s manifested itself and is ever present, as a warning. They sigh, reaching for some pain-relief pills in the cabinet behind their mirror. Before they can, however, the reflective surface ripples.

“Wait, that’s like when she-”

They don’t get to finish, as an ashen limb breaks through the mirror, grabs them by the throat, and pulls them through before they can resist in any form. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally skipped a couple days, haha. Not sure how much that'll happen, but it didn't make sense to put anything in those days. Thought about starting a Social Link in one of them but we've had like five now in the last two chapters and I thought it'd be best to wait for a couple more. 
> 
> Komeki is a love letter to a certain character in another franchise that Sega owns.  
> Originally the Hierophant was going to be a metal shop person who made the team's weapons, but I fell out of that idea.  
> The canon is that Komeki lived in Sumaru during the events of Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment and was one of the weapon shop owners in that arc. It's not really important that he's aware of the existence of demons.
> 
> Originally, Yuki was going to have a shield, but that didn't make sense once I made her a baseball player, so the shield was moved to Ryushi.  
> Then, I realized I made the meek character the one with the big heavy item, which is a fun idea but didn't feel right. So knives. That's still different.
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)  
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito  
> Fortune-Kotori Watanabe (Swim Team)  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima  
> Star-Agatha
> 
> I made some art for Shio and Suijin styled after Joker/Arsene! Kinda didn't include a couple things from Suijin's design (namely the tattoos) because...drawing is hard...  
> Sorry for it being blurry. I'll get it out with better quality when I eventually work on finishing the smaller details. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EaKYM7lXQAIOUex?format=jpg&name=small
> 
> Unrelated, but I have like, six femJoker fics I'm reading right now...help


	10. Temperance's Time in the Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT IMPORTANT: After really debating for awhile, I've changed Shizue's name to Misaki, to avoid confusion with Shio. It's already been fixed in the old chapter where she first showed up. Now I just need to stop my brain from calling her that all the time. ughhh

**Saturday, May 2nd, 2020**

Shio swears that every minute she’s in it the fog gets thicker and thicker. Her sprint to the Kanzato Lab is devoid of any interactions; the siren she heard ends up being the only other “encounter” she has, though it’s far from one.

Upon reaching the Lab, she finds Ryushi sitting against the wall of the bathroom with his laptop perched on his legs. He’s ditched his normal button-up for a simple collared shirt, this one red, and now a simple chain necklace hangs from his neck.

The Knight’s leader slides down next to her friend and watches as he furiously types into a command window that fills half the screen, the other half showcasing the news. The reporter is standing on a bridge overlooking the Tone according to the ticker, though it’s almost impossible to tell where he is with the fog.

_“Early this morning, a bewildering fog set in over downtown Maebashi, and has been slowly spreading out over the last few hours. Meteorologists are baffled, as even now they claim the conditions are not right at all for fog of this nature to settle in. Citizens have been advised to not travel by vehicle for the time being due to the fog’s nature, though based on reports many are also electing to stay indoors completely for the time being.”_

“I didn’t think this would happen. I thought-I thought the AD’s effects were just like, messing with infrastructure or some shit. That’s what everything before was, right?” Ryushi says, concerned. 

“As far as we know. We can talk about that later though, when we’re done with the mission.” She closes her eyes and does a quick run through of the Personas she has on hand at the moment; Suijin, Mokoi, Ippon-Datara, Kusi Mitama, Pyro Jack, and Cait Sith. She figures that they’ll encounter a fair amount of resistance on the way to the TV station, and having a couple open slots for new allies is a wise move.

Yuki arrives within a few minutes, an equipment bag slung around her shoulder. She’s in her baseball uniform, which is light green with white lettering outlined in yellow, while her ponytail has been pulled so it now traditionally bobs behind her head. 

“This fucker made me cancel practice, and we have our first game of the season soon. I’m gonna kill them,” she says angrily, cracking her knuckles. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Damn straight,” Shio says, standing up. “You got the stuff?”

“Oh, yup.” The Chariot lets her bag fall to the floor and bends down to unzip it. She shuffles some items around before producing a couple of simple pads for them to wear for protection, since Komeki hadn’t really sold anything that worked for them. Shio quickly changes in the bathroom, and as she emerges Ryushi speaks up, “So uh, there’s...well, I’m not sure what this is.”

The two girls crouch on either side of him, and he pulls up his programs dealing with the transmitter. An overhead map of Maebashi is shown, with a signal broadcasting out. He draws a circle around it, “This thing matches with what I cross-referenced from the first AD. However, this one,“ He zooms in to show another origin point, which is sending out data from very close to the AD, “is new. I don’t recognize it. There might be something else nearby we’ll have to deal with first.”

“Well, at least we have prior warning,” Shio offers, straightening up. “Let’s not waste any more time. If we run into something, we’ll just deal with it then. The fog is spreading, and the sooner we annihilate the AD, the sooner it, er, hopefully abates.” 

Ryushi continues typing, “You two go ahead and head over, I’ll get changed in a moment.”

* * *

Yuki and Shio hang around the entrance to the Lab as they wait for Ryushi, Yuki doing some stretching and Shio getting in a bit of staff practice.

Ryushi runs out a couple minutes later, looking flustered. The two girls stare as he looks wildly around before diverting his attention back to them. “Uh, are you two OK?”

“...Yeah?”

“What’s up?”

Ryushi sighs, “I was just hopping over when my computer beeped-it said two more of that signal we saw near the AD were right here. I was worried that whatever it was had appeared…” he trails off as he finishes, and then his eyes widen. “Wait...what if the signals were you two?”

Shio crosses her arms, “Why would we be showing up?”

Ryushi paces back and forth, “It must be because of our Personas...so that means-”

“-There’s another Persona user by the AD.” Yuki finishes, snapping her fingers.

“Most likely,” Ryushi finishes pacing, “however it might just be a normal person too. We still have no idea about the nature of this world, and it might be causing some sort of resonance solely because we’re existing here.

“Regardless, we’ve gotta get over there, ASAP.”

* * *

The Knights charge toward the northern exit to campus, and in spite of themselves come to a halt at its border: In their time in the AR so far, they’ve neglected to move off of the university’s grounds for fear of running into more dangerous enemies. Now, there’s no choice.

“If we avoid fighting, we should be there within thirty minutes. The path isn’t too winding, we’ll only need to make a couple turns.”

Shio pivots to face both of the others, “Here’s the plan; when we encounter resistance, we deal with it. We can’t risk running and a number of demons following us all the way to the station, and then dealing with them and the AD at once.”

Ryushi and Yuki nod and the trio sets off down the road. After about five minutes they’re jumped by a couple Koppa Tengus and an Onmoraki. They don’t prove to be much of a challenge, save when the Onmoraki inflicts Yuki with Confuse, and she then chases after Ryushi with her bat held high (“YUKI PLEASE NO I’M NOT A DEMON!”).

A couple encounters later, Shio finishes off a Slime with a downward strike of her staff, and clicks her weapon back into its concealed form. Then, a small demon bounces into view, emerging from an alley. 

“Hee-ho, you’re really strong, ho,” the little snowman says, marching up to Shio with a look of mischievous joy plastered on his face.

Shio crouches so that she’s on his eye level, “Have I met you before?”

The demon rocks back and forth on his large blue boots, “Hee-ho, I say no! Though I bet-ho that you’ve seen my brother, Pyro Jack-ho.”

“Oh of course! To be honest, he’s given me a lot of trouble before, but I managed to make friends with him awhile ago.” Shio giggles, “What would it take for us to be friends?”

Jack Frost puts a finger to his chin (or, where his chin would be) and thinks, “Hm, I don’t know-ho. How do you feel about bad jokes?”

Shio snorts, “How do I feel about them? I think they’re _cool_ as heck,” she pokes the demon’s icy belly for emphasis on ‘cool,’ “They’re the _ice_ -ing on the cake of any conversation.”

“I hate this,” Yuki mutters to Ryushi in the background.

“I just don’t know how she always says the exact right thing to get them on board. Well, except for that Angel last week-”

“Oh god, do _not_ remind me of that shit. She should not be allowed to flirt with them if she’s going to go in _that_ direction again.”

The Jack Frost falls on his back laughing at Shio’s response, rolling back and forth. “Hee-ho, you got it, ho! We should be friends!” He bounces back to his feet and high fives the Fool before turning to blue light and flying into her body. The girl straightens up and looks back at the other two Knights, flashing a grin and a thumbs-up. 

Yuki shakes her head and sets off down the street again, while Ryushi shrugs and follows her. 

“Aww come on, those were clever!” Shio complains, chasing after them.

* * *

About five minutes out from their destination, a large, imposing demon hovers in their path. A knight, with wide red-feathered wings, fingering a sword in its hands with a clear desire to use it. As they close in, the knight points its sword at them, “Humans, I am Archangel, and I will now deliver punishment for your sins. You shall go no further.”

Shio raises a hand to her friends, “I got this.”

Yuki rolls her eyes and Ryushi smirks, leaning over and whispering in the brunette’s ear, “OK, I bet she flubs this.”

“Ditto.”

The green-haired girl steps forward and waves at the angel, “Hey, how’s it going?”

The angel gets into a battle stance, “Do not test me, human, your actions have warranted your demise, and nothing is going to get you out of this.”

Shio puts her hands in her pockets, “C’mon, you seem like a reasonable guy, why don’t we-” she’s interrupted by the Archangel performing a very quick slice at her, which she manages to somewhat dodge, the blade cutting a gash through her left thigh instead of her chest. She collapses holding her leg, weakly attempting to put pressure on it, and the two freshmen leap in front of her, evoking their Personas. 

“Fuck fuck _fuuuuuck_. OK, I know, I know, I got cocky, don’t rub it in,” she admits as she shakily snaps a hand to get Kusi Mitama out for a heal. It takes spamming the spell a few times to get the blood to start retreating back into her body, and when the wound does close up there’s an angry scar.

Meanwhile, Kuraokami has become locked in a swordfight with the angel, dancing around the street as their blades bounce off each other. Yuki has Haniyasu-Hime firing beams from her cannons, which make contact but do little to slow down their target.

“Alright then, now I’m mad,” Shio murmurs to herself as she gets back on her feet, her eyes glowing an icy-blue, “Jack Frost!”

The tell-tale snowman materializes and does a little dance, “Oh YEAH, hee-ho, let’s rock!” He blows ice across the makeshift arena, which Haniyasu-Hime leaps away from. The cold slows Archangel enough for the dragon-knight to spear through a crack in its armor. 

The demon lets out a bellowing rage and pays its bleeding wound no mind, instead countering with a similar move and piercing Kuraokami’s neck. Ryushi grabs at his head and makes an inhuman noise as he feels his Persona’s pain. Archangel’s laugh is cold and high, and it makes Yuki’s blood boil.

The brunette grimaces and tightens her grip on her weapon, glancing at the ground where Jack Frost’s spell left sheets of ice. She gets a running start and then hops onto the ice, twisting her body mid-air so that her feet are angled perpendicular from her motion. The momentum carries her directly toward the boasting angel, who receives a heavy slugging once Yuki gets close enough. Shio copies her and skates across to the demon, slamming her staff into where Ryushi originally made contact.

The consecutive hits bring the Archangel down, nursing its wounds and groaning in shame with it being near-defeat. Shio opens her mouth, but Yuki holds a hand up mockingly, “Uh-uh. Pretty sure this guy will defy you no matter what.”

 _“Fine.”_ They finish the demon off quickly, and look back at Ryushi who’s weakly shaking his head.

“Ugh, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

The Knights start to make the last let of the journey when a certain Snowman makes himself known.

 _“Hey,”_ Jack Frost whispers in Shio’s ear, tugging his brother along, _“You didn’t tell me my brother was actually with you, ho!”_

 _“Now we can do our special attack, hee-ho!”_ The pumpkin laughs gleefully, _“It’s been too long, bro-ho!”_

 _“What are you two talking about?”_ Shio says back.

_“Well, when you wanna do it, all you gotta do-ho is…”_

* * *

The station looks like it was once an impressive building; the walls of the front entrance were glass at one point, though now they’re shattered and lying in piles that crunch under their feet as they approach. It’s four stories tall, with a burnt-out sign near the top that says “MAEBASHI TELEVISION.”

“The signals are coming from inside,” Ryushi states as they stand at the entrance, “Though I can’t tell what floor either of them are on.”

“OK, let’s all search this floor, and then each take our own one. If anyone finds anything, just radio,” Shio states, turning her walkie on.”

“Oh, right, I completely forgot about those,” Yuki admits, fishing hers out of her bag and clipping it to her belt. “I’ll take the second floor.”

“Third.”

“Then I’ve got the top one,” Shio says. “Let’s move.”

The ground floor doesn’t end up having anything noteworthy on it, so they each move to their respective levels. When Shio emerges from the stairwell, she finds hallways that are mostly lined with trashed offices. A couple of the walls into them are caved in, and more often than not the desks are overturned, papers strewn about. 

In one of the more grand ones, Shio peruses around and scoops up a few pages of some report. The details of it are unremarkable, discussing some new program the network planned to shoot at some point. The thing that stands out is the date; September, 1999. 

“Why is something this old here?” She whispers, thumbing through it to make sure it’s not a misprint; the rest of the file also shares it, and none of the other pages are from after.

The last room she hasn't explored turns out to be a board room, long and wide, with a glass wall (this one somehow intact) overlooking the area. The table where executives had sat in the past was split in two, ugly splinter jutting up from the crack. 

Shio readies her walkie, “You guys found anything?”

“That’s a nope from me.” Yuki’s static-y voice claims.

“Same here, over.” 

“...Ryushi, really?”

“What? Over.”

“Oh my god, no. Absolutely not,” Yuki chides.

“You guys suck. Over.”

Shio shakes her head in amusement before patching through again, “My floor’s clear. I’m gonna go see if there’s a way onto the roof.” She really debates about adding an ‘over’ of her own in, but decides against it.

The two give acknowledgement, and the Fool leaves the boardroom and heads back to the stairwell. Inside, she notices she neglected to take into account another door on the side of the landing. Opening it reveals a new set of stairs that takes her to the roof, where she’s met with a scene that demands her full attention.

Mikoto Goda is passed out about thirty feet in front of her, and above them floats a large sphere of ash, maybe ten feet in diameter, and Shio swears its growing; in fact, it’s nearly encompassed the judoka. Their arms gently start to lift, and then their body, getting sucked in by the gravity of the ash.

She darts forward and grabs onto Mikoto, tugging them away from the enlarging orb. Once they’re a safe distance away, she kneels next to the judoka and shakes them, “Hey, hey, Mikoto-san, get up, wake up. Come on, please don’t be dead.”

Mikoto stirs a bit, but doesn’t open their eyes. Shio breathes a sigh of relief at their sign of life before calling her friends over the walkie, “Get to the roof, ASAP, I found the sources.”

With more coaxing, Shio manages to get Mikoto to open their eyes, who groans and slaps their face, “Oh man, what the hell…”

“Mikoto-san, can you hear me, are you OK? Anything hurt?”

They sit up and shake their head, “N-no, I’m fine…” Finally, they become cognizant of their surroundings, “Oh hey, it’s you, mirror girl.” 

Shio laughs, “Guilty as charged. I’m Shio by the way, Shio Kiyomizu, I don’t think I ever introduced myself.”

“I’m sorry, I never asked your name the other day, but still challenged you. That was quite rude of me,” they state, getting to their feet. “Now, er, where are we? ...and why is the sky red?”

“Well, um, that’s...a long story,” she starts, and is interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls coming from below. Yuki and Ryushi emerge moments later, with heavy looks of confusion on their faces.

“Uh, Shio...who’s this? And what is _that_?” Yuki calls over loudly, pointing behind the two at the orb. Shio now notices that it’s definitely moved since she dragged Mikoto away from it, as well as gotten even larger. Two red lights shine from within its core, and the entire sphere begins to bulge in odd directions as it morphs into another shape.

Shio puts her hands on Mikoto’s broad shoulders to get them to turn their alarmed attention back to her, “Mikoto, I need you to trust me. I’ll explain everything later, but right now, you’re in danger, and I don’t think judo is going to help you that much. I need you to get downstairs and find somewhere to hide until we’re done here. OK?”

Mikoto nods, a bit white, “O-OK, Shio-san, I’ll trust you.”

They start to make their way towards the stairwell when a powerful shriek emanates from the sphere. All four look back at it and see that it’s now a defined shape; a phoenix-like bird with hints of a peacock in its feathers that grow out of its tail end. Several multicolored feathers droop down from the same place, and its eyes contain the same heavy malice that the Makai AD did. And, of course, it is coated in ash, and it sends clouds of it out with every flap of its wings.

“SACRIFICE...CONSUME…” the Suzaku cries, cawing to the heavens and growing to the size of a bus. “HUMANS WILL FUEL THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION!” 

A lightbulb goes off in Shio’s head, _“So that’s it...that’s what this is about…”_ She looks back at her friends, “Mikoto, change of plans, it’s going to go for you, and it might be better to keep you in sight.” Her hair begins to whip around furiously as whirlwinds form around the Suzaku, and the sheer force of energy it unleashes causes cracks to go through the roof. 

“Oh _fuck_ ,” Yuki whispers audibly, her grip on her bat tightening. “We need to get back down to the ground _now_.”

Shio runs to the edge of the building and glances down at the four-story drop. “Hey, Suijin, is this...survivable, with a sync?”

_“With the high level of synchronicity you three have thus achieved, most likely.”_

The Fool looks back at Mikoto, who’s still white and utterly confused, but at least listening to her advice and sticking nearby, “Can you take them?”

_“Hm...a challenge, but if your will is great enough, I believe so.”_

Shio smirks at the response and beckons the three over to her as one corner of the roof collapses in, and the demon lets out a roar and becomes the size of two-story building, “We’re gonna have to jump.”

Mikoto opens their mouth to object, but Yuki’s happy shout stops them, “Aw yes, this’ll be fun.”

Seeing their confusion, Shio decides to stop beating around the bush. “Don’t worry dude,” she says, eyes becoming engulfed in a wash of bright blue as Suijin evokes behind her, “my friend here’s got you covered.”

The water goddess leaps over and picks Mikoto up, who now is white enough that it looks unhealthy, and then carries the judoka off the side of the building. Ryushi and Yuki evoke their Personas and follow suit, while Shio waits for her other self to return.

Behind her, the Suzaku’s gale forces have nearly caved in half the roof, and the lower floors are starting to follow suit. As Suijin reappears and she wills herself to be one with her Persona, the part she’s standing on gives way, and the fool leaps out into the air and sails down toward the ground. With Suijin’s cushioning, the impact feels like it was more from four feet than forty, though it does cause a fair amount of ash to rise up in the air.

The Suzaku unleashes an attack on the remnants of the TV station, and a heavy amount of debris begins to fall down and create a large, dusty ash cloud. 

“Yuki get a barrier up, Ryushi, you cover our heads, Mikoto...just stay close,” Shio orders, snapping her fingers to bring out Jack Frost again. Her allies comply, Yuki having Haniyasu-Hime bring up a slab of earth between them and the collapsing structure, and Ryushi shielding them from above with a sheet of ice. Jack Frost...well, he comforts Mikoto.

“It’s gonna be OK, hee-ho!” the demon laughs, rocking on his heels again. 

“I think I’ve given up on understanding anything happening,” Mikoto says, covering their head with their arms.

As the dust cloud pushes out, the barriers mostly protect the Knights, though they all still end up coughing a fair amount from the lingering dust. As it settles, they move around the makeshift shields to see the Suzaku flapping above the wreckage, beady red eyes focused on Mikoto.

“NEED. HUMAN. SUSTENANCE,” it cries, firing a gust of wind at them. Shio quickly switches to Kusi Mitama and throws up a wind resistance wall, which negates most of the damage.

“I’m pretty sure this thing is going to go down to ice attacks. Ryushi, you and Kuraokami focus on hitting it with all you got, Yuki, be ranged support for now and hang back with Mikoto. I’ll provide interference to hopefully draw the brunt of attacks.” She doesn’t bother waiting for acknowledgment, instead running forward and switching to Suijin, who helps her leap high and smack the bird demon right in the eye with her staff.

“Jeez, she’s really taking this leader thing in stride now,” Ryushi laughs, following her into battle. 

“No shit,” Yuki calls after him, “I like it though, makes us feel like a real ass-kicking team.” She throws her hand out and has Haniyasu-Hime fire shots at the demon’s talons as it attempts to claw at her black-haired friend.

“You three are unreal,” Mikoto breathes, sitting on their butt and watching the Knights do their work.

“We manage,” Yuki smirks, “Yuki Saito, by the way. The guy’s Ryushi Teshima. Mikoto, right? You seem to know Shio?”

“Er, sort of. We work out at the same gym.”

Shio crashes down next to them and rolls along the ground before slamming into a destroyed car that’s nearby. She shakily gets to her feet and has Kusi Mitama heal her, though it seems to do little for her dizziness, as she stumbles back toward the fight.

Ryushi, meanwhile, is managing to dance between whirlwinds as he pelts the Suzaku with icicles from Kuraokami, who also throws in slashes here and there. 

While the demon launches each of them more than once, the Knights continue to get back up and whittle away at its health, though it doesn’t show any signs of letting up.

Shio and Ryushi fall back from their attack patterns simultaneously, panting a bit from their efforts. 

“I feel like our attacks aren’t making enough of a dent. The ice is definitely what it’s weak too based on those recoils it gave, yet it never stays down long enough. We gotta do something...bigger.”

Two certain Personas in Shio’s mind scream for attention, and she straightens up, hair falling in front of her eyes and the corners of her mouth turning up devilishly.

The Suzaku faces them in preparation for another attack as Shio steps forward, cracking her neck. A familiar wind whips around her feet, and she brings both of her hands up, the pads of her thumbs pressed into her middle fingers’. “You all might wanna stand back.”

Ryushi’s eyes get huge, “Wait, are you gonna fucking-”

Shio snaps both of her hands at once, which causes her head to get thrown back as a flood of Persona flames fly out from her; one of her eyes the white icy-blue of Jack Frost, the other the smoldering red that comes from Pyro Jack.

Then, she hunches over and pulls all the energy back into herself, before throwing her hand out in front of her, unleashing it again, but concentrated.

Both of the Jack brothers materialize on the field, and do a little coordinated dance together, “Hee-ho, we’re the Jack Bros., and we’re gonna kill you! Hee-ho, away we go!”

The AD launches a rather large tornado straight at Shio, which is countered by the Jack Bros. spewing out a dual beam of fire and ice. The two forces push against one another for a moment, and then the beam begins to be absorbed until the tornado is a vortex of fire and ice itself.

“You’re done, ho!” the brothers cry triumphantly as they push the whirlwind into their adversary, who lets loose a guttural cry and collapses in a heap in front of them.

Shio casually turns around, dusting some ash off her shirt as the two brothers high five. “How’s that for an attack?”

Yuki shakes her head, smiling despite herself, “You really just have to be the flashy one, huh? But I admit, that was pretty damn cool.”

Ryushi strolls over to the demon and pokes it, “...though shouldn’t it be dissolving by now? They never last this long, right?”

The other two Persona users head over to him, Mikoto staying in shelter a safe distance away, “Yeah, it should...well, let’s just hit it with everything we’ve got, just in case.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Yuki cracks her knuckles.

Just as they’re about to unleash their onslaught, the demon violently shows signs of life, flaunting its wings and sending all three Knights soaring through the air; Shio lands on the hood of a car, Ryushi rolls along the ground and gets positively covered in ash, and Yuki narrowly misses a sharp piece of metal from the wreckage of the station, instead slamming into a pile of rubble.

Shio blinks back tears of pain and grits her teeth, acutely becoming aware of the fact that she definitely broke a rib. Her attempt to get off of the hood only results in her rolling off and crashing down into the dust, sending her into a coughing fit, albeit not as bad as the one Ryushi’s dealing with. Yuki’s up, but she’s bleeding from the head and is limping. Shio’s attempt to do a round of healing results in her realizing that the array of spells she was shooting off earlier was a bit too much, especially with the fusion attack, and she needs another couple minutes before she’s ready for another wave. 

The Fool manages to get to her feet, “Mikoto,” she spurts, blood running down from the corner of her mouth, “You should...you should get out of here…”

“What? No way! I’m not just leaving you all here!” They argue, running over to Shio and helping her up.

“She’s right,” Ryushi coughs, wiping his face, “We can do this, we just...don’t want you to get hurt. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not going to be a coward! I won’t stand for this!” They cry out, sweeping their hand to the side for emphasis.

“Dude, stop! We’ll be fine,” Yuki calls over, holding her wound, “This isn’t your fight, it’s ours. Don’t get involved, it’s too risky!.”

Her words strike a chord with the judoka, who looks both fearful and like they finally understand something they’ve tried to for a long time. “Involved…”

“MIKOTO! THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH. WE CAN HANDLE IT, TRUST US!” Shio yells, trying to dissuade them.

Mikoto shakes their head, their normally calm look replaced with great determination, “No. I’m choosing not to.” They step forward, facing the gigantic demon, who’s now building up another attack. “I’m not going to be a bystander. I’m not doing any half-measures...I’m gonna commit!”

Shio can feel what’s about to happen before the voice speaks, the hairs on her neck standing on end.

**_“Have you finally decided?”_ **

The voice booms down from high above them, and at its genesis Mikoto’s face twists in pain. They crouch down to the ground holding their head, grunting in pain, beads of sweat glistening as they travel down their face.

**_“You, the one torn between many walks of life-have you not already devoted yourself towards your own self-actualization? Why would you let others dictate the path you should walk?”_ **

“I...I’m not...I won’t let them...not anymore...not in a million years…”

A gentle breeze picks up in the arena, a soothing, counter one to the gales that the Suzaku’s been blowing, and the air seems to shift again slightly. As Shio slowly makes her way over to stand nearer to Mikoto, she becomes aware of her wounds starting to heal as if Kusi Mitama had cast a spell on her. 

**_“Indecisiveness leads to inaction and becoming un-involved. It leads to your own ruin. Will you allow yourself to be fragmented, or will you take the reins of life into your own hands?”_ **

“No...no, never! I’m done letting it happen to me!” Mikoto gets back up, and their eyes are awash with a purple fire. The voice chuckles in approval.

**_“Then our oath is set. We are now resolved to resist those who would upset the balance of nature and peace.”_ **

The wind picks up, blue fire swirling around Mikoto, acting like a barrier, with Suzaku unable to fire its own set of gales out. The healing wave has now thoroughly fixed the injuries the Knights had last sustained. 

**_“Thou art I, and I am thou.”_ **

Mikoto’s Persona is simple in body shape, being just a torso and a head, stuck to a metal post. They have alabaster white skin covered in stitches and scars criss-crossing each other, forming patterns of unknown significance. The only clothing they’re wearing is what looks to be a torn piece of a robe made of straw and cloth that originally went over their upper body as well, but now only covers the lower third, the end dangling off and swaying in the wind. The torn piece is secured by a black belt with a buckle emblazoned with a ‘XIV.’ Over their eyes is a steel-gray visor with a purple line running through it for vision. From their head flows long, golden hair that reaches the middle of their back.

**_“I watch over the sea of thy soul. My gaze leaves no one thing alone...I am Kuebiko!”_ **

Kuebiko lifts its head up and lets out a strange noise that seems to disrupt the Suzaku whilst enveloping the area in a purple-tinted light. As it washes over Shio, she feels something new, and enticing.

“Whoa, now that’s new,” she says, making a fist and feeling power surge through her. She decides to take the initiative and call Suijin out, who does a cross slash on the still-recoiling Suzaku, which reacts as though in much more pain than her earlier attacks. “Mikoto, I don’t know what your power is, but I love it.”

“I can get behind that sentiment,” Yuki says elatedly, having Haniyasu-Hime follow up Suijin’s attack with a cannon blast that also seems much more effective than before.

The rest of the battle goes much better, with noticeable improvement on the power of all their attacks. Mikoto manages to get off a healing wave a couple times as well, though when they do it takes the wind out of them and they’re unable to act again for a couple minutes. Despite Kuebiko’s seeming lack of offensive skills, Mikoto finds they’re able to sync quite easily with their other self, and uses this to their advantage to get some punches in.

Eventually, the Suzaku seems to truly tire out, its whirlwinds dying down after a combined ice attack from Jack Frost and Kuraokami freezes one of its wings. The ashen demon collapses to the ground, truly out for the count.

“Alright people, let’s do this again-let’s go all out!” Shio proclaims, dashing in with her staff. The other three follow suit, and the large amount of havoc they cause leads to a cloud of ash flowing up, obscuring the action. Once it fades, the Suzaku lets a final cry out as the ash coating it leaves its body, and dissolves away. The ash hangs around a few seconds until it fades away, and the world goes quiet.

Ryushi and Yuki are near enough to high five each other, while Shio runs over to the judoka, who’s fallen to their knees. “Hey dude, you OK? That was a pretty intense fight.”

“I-I think so,” Mikoto says, sounding exhausted, “What even just happened?” They look at their hands, “What did I just do?”

Shio crouches and pats their back, “It’s called Persona. We’ve, well...like I said before, long story. We’ve got a bit of a walk ahead of us to get home, so we can tell you on the way.”

* * *

“So, er, yeah, that’s the long and the short of it,” Shio finishes as they reach GU’s campus. Jack Frost, who insisted on walking with them, had managed to convince the low-level demons they met along the way to leave them alone, much to everyone’s relief. 

Mikoto watches as the small snowman chats up a Genbu off to the side, “That’s...wow. That’s a whole lot.”

“Yeah. And it’s hard to believe we haven’t even been at this for three weeks,” Yuki laments, “This year is going to go on forever, haha.”

“Hey, uh, I don’t mean to be intrusive...but Mikoto? How did you get here in the first place?”

Everyone stops walking. “Oh, yeah, I didn’t even think about that,” Shio admits, facepalming. The trio look to Mikoto, who shrugs.

“I honestly have no idea. I got up this morning feeling a little dazed, went to the bathroom, and while I was in there something grabbed me and pulled me through. I was unconscious until you all found me.”

“Huh. That’s...new. That’s not how any of us got here, we haven’t heard of anything coming over to our side yet. That’s honestly scary as fuck,” Yuki finishes, hugging herself.

“We can figure that out later, maybe you’ll remember more Mikoto,” Shio says as they approach the Lab. “Let’s get to safety.”

As they head into the Kanzato Lab, a cloaked figure watches from the shadows, eyes glinting.

* * *

Upon emerging from the Lab of the real world, the group sees that the fog has completely lifted, and the sun is blazing down like it has been most days in recent memory.

“Oh my god, it really was. We actually did it,” Ryushi whispers. “I mean, the gas leak was one thing-but this, this is 100% us. And this was damn nature.”

Shio has her hand on her chin for a moment before answering, “I think we might’ve approached this wrong. We only considered the ADs’ actions as being...accidents. They were seen as failures of infrastructure and the like. But now, we’ve seen they can do more; it’s not that they changed their modus operandi, it’s that they always did this. Sewage leak? Water. Sinkhole? Earth,” she ticks them off on her fingers as she goes on, “Gas leak? Air. It’s all actually just been nature being messed with. That is what we’re ultimately dealing with.”

“And it seems to be getting worse. Sure, fog can’t directly kill anyone like a fire breaking out, but it sure stopped the town this morning, and it was blanketing the area for _miles_ ,” Yuki emphasizes, “I don’t know why they’re appearing, but now we have a better idea of what they’re capable of. What’s next, a flood? Thunderstorms? Those can ruin lives.”

“Plus, we have to consider that if we hadn’t killed that thing, that fog might have stuck around indefinitely. We don’t know how long their actions last since the accidents were smaller things, however I’d rather commit to beating them all as soon as they appear, to prevent any harm we can.”

“Not that those aren’t very important, but people getting pulled into that side is also alarming. If you all didn’t find me when you did, I could’ve died. Who’s to say others won’t also end up over there?...or already have?”

Yuki pales, “Oh, fuck…and that AD was screaming about basically eating you or something…”

Ryushi looks at his phone, “Well, you’re the only signal I’ve picked up recently in all of Maebashi. But to be safe, I’ll search through some records to see if there have been any missing persons cases around lately, and see if we can triangulate where they’d be in the AR.”

“Sounds good.” Shio claps her hands together, “Well...I don’t know about you all, but I’m beat. It’s early, but I think I’m gonna head home and probably nap.”

“I’m all for that strategy,” Yuki says wryly.

“Big mood.” Ryushi snickers, stopping after Yuki shoots him a glare. 

Shio turns to Mikoto and bows, “Thank you so much for helping us today. I’ll see you at the gym, I guess!”

The judoka frowns, “Uh...am I not allowed to be involved with you all’s whole thing? I’d like to be.”

The three Knights pause as they start to leave, “...wait, you want in on this?”

Mikoto crosses their arms, “I don’t see why you’re surprised. You all just saved my life, and I found out I can summon this...thing. Plus, you all just talked yourselves up for saving people, like I wouldn’t feel compelled to do the same,” they smile, “if you all would have me.”

Shio steps forward and throws her hand out, “Of course we would. 

“So, I’m a Knight now, huh? What’s my rank?”

The founding Knights stare, “Uh, what?”

“...rank? I mean, sure, a knight is a title, but shouldn’t there be classifications? Like, I dunno, who’s the leader? What's their title?"

“We never thought of it that way. Shio just suggested ‘knights’ as a moniker and we went with it.” Yuki says offhandedly, leaning against the building. Her leg cuts through where the Velvet Room door is, so Shio has to try hard not to giggle with her response.

“I mean, that’d be kinda neat. Like code names, in a way. Except...I have no idea what I’d be.”

“Easy, you’re Leader,” Ryushi says.

“What? Hell no, that’s too basic.”

“Vanguard.”

Ryushi, Mikoto, and Shio turn to Yuki, who’s fingering her bat, “...I’m Vanguard.”

“Now that is a good name.” Mikoto gives her a thumbs-up.

Ryushi scratches the back of his neck, “...I’m gonna need some inspiration here.”

“You use knives, right? And you’re the shortest here, and wear dark clothing. What about Rogue?”

“I thought this was knight classes, not uh, tabletop shit.” Ryushi screws up his face, “...though, I like it. Even if the short part is rude.”

“I think I’ll be, Seeker.” Mikoto states. “Seeking the truth, and my own way.”

“Jeez, you’re way more mature than all of us,” Ryushi sighs. “I feel so outclassed.”

After some deliberation, Shio snaps her fingers, “Cross.”

The others stare. “I don’t get it,” Yuki finally says.

“Simple. One, it’s wrong for my enemies to cross me, because I’ve got so many approaches I can take in battle. Two, it’s like an ‘x’ which is kinda like a zero, which...is relevant. Three, I’m why we can ‘cross’ over to the AR at all, so...yeah. That’s my reasoning.”

“OK, that kinda rules,” Ryushi high fives her, “Can I call you ‘Captain Cross’ then?”

“Absolutely not.”

After exchanging contact info with Mikoto the group agrees to meet on Thursday, since Mikoto’s also free on that day. 

Ryushi and Yuki head off in one direction, while Shio and Mikoto head in another. “Today was...really surreal, but I wanted to thank you again. It might not seem like it, but...I’ve been dealing with, things lately,” they choose their words carefully, staring at the ground or off into the distance as they walk, “and this might have been the jump start I needed to get back on the right path.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Shio says truthfully, “and sorry to hear that it took getting kidnapped and nearly dying to do so.”

Mikoto laughs wholeheartedly, “Yes, yes, that’s true. Regardless, I’m very thankful, and if I can repay you, please let me know.”

Shio waves her hand, “No no, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m just...doing my job, I guess. Granted, it’s one I don’t get paid for and in a way kinda got forced into, but I’ve accepted it’s my duty.”

“That’s very admirable of you. If you...ever wanted to do some more training, since I assume you’ll need it, I’d be more than willing to assist you.”

Shio nods, making a triumphant fist, “Getting trained by a world-class judoka? Those demons won’t know what hit ‘em.”

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Temperance Arcana…**

“I really should get home-I missed my morning workout. Although, I guess I kinda had another, arguably more rigorous one instead,” Mikoto laughs. “I’ll see you later, Shio-san.”

“See you, Mikoto-san.”

* * *

As Shio lays in bed that night, she runs through the day’s events over and over, considering the new information they have. 

_“This is all so much still...now we have to be on alert for kidnappings...if the pattern sticks, it’ll be a couple weeks before another AD, but what if them getting more powerful means they show up more? What then?”_

The Knight’s leader eventually manages to stop letting her thoughts cloud her mind and goes to sleep, hand still tightly holding her locket.

* * *

She comes to in the Velvet Room, looking at Igor, with Agatha sitting nearby again.

“Welcome back. You faced a truly trying ordeal today,” Igor says, getting straight to the point. “And you’ve already begun to realize more of your uniqueness as the Wild Card.”

“It was so exciting! Seeing you manage to get two out at once-there’s only one other Wild Card that we know of who’s done that before!” Agatha claims excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

“It almost wasn’t enough, though.” Shio rebuts, “I let my friends get hurt, and if I messed up we might not have made it.”

Igor nods, “But you recognize that you were not perfect in your performance-that shows your growth. As time progresses and you discover more of yourself, you will surely be able to exert yourself more in battle.”

The Fool twiddles her thumbs, “If you say so…”

“On another note,” Igor turns his head towards Agatha, “Your ward wanted to have an opportunity to speak with you.”

 _“Wait, my_ ward _? What. Am I her guardian too? What the heck.”_

Agatha flashes a smile, “I’m almost ready to start you with some special services that I’ve been training for! My final exams, for lack of a better term, are still a bit of a ways off, but in the next couple days I’ll have a new way for you to get stronger. Get hype!”

_“Oh dear god. Am I old already? Is this what kids sound like nowadays?”_

Igor chuckles at whatever expression Shio has on her face (she can’t tell, she’s confused and also happy for the assistant-who’s-also-now-her-responsibility-she-guesses.

“Until we meet again…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha you fools thought Mikoto would be Strength or something right? Nope, we got a Temperance Persona user! Ayyyyy  
> Also making the Navigator someone with real combat abilities is exciting...even if their Persona doesn't technically have them.
> 
> Mikoto's persona took awhile to design. I knew early on it'd be Kuebiko, but designing a scarecrow god to fit a judoka is...a thing, I'll admit. But I really like what I eventually got to. 
> 
> I know we already had an AD encounter, but this was the first *real* one where we start to see...well, hints of it all. I debated a LOT about how to approach it. I've had the larger plot decided from day one and have been filling out certain arcs here and there. 
> 
> FUSION SPELLS ARE BACK BABY!
> 
> Time will tell how much I actually use the code names; they don't have to really worry about their identities...yet...*thinking emoji*
> 
> So, Mikoto using Matarukaja this early: their use of those spells is limited. It'll be explored in a future chapter why they can use that already. I am trying to pace this like the games, somewhat, but varied up to be unique. 
> 
> Also, is it bad if I'm already thinking about a sequel to this? Because...I got a really damn good idea..
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)  
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito  
> Fortune-Kotori Watanabe (Swim Team)  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima  
> Temperance-Mikoto Goda  
> Star-Agatha


	11. Crushing Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMINDER, in case you didn't see last time: Shizue has re-named to Misaki to avoid confusion with Shio.

**Sunday, May 3rd, 2020**

When Shio emerges from her room the next morning, rubbing her eyes, her aunt is sipping coffee at the counter while the news blares from the other side of the flat. Akari gives her a weak wave.

“Morning.”

“Good morning. You’re on your days off now, right?”

Akari nods sleepily, “Mhm. Somehow I got a few days this week, so I’ll be here until Thursday. I was thinking we’d go to Endo’s again, if you wanted.”

The Fool smirks, “Aw yes, that’d be great.”

Her aunt nods, “Good, I’ll figure out a time.” She glances back at the TV, where the only topic anyone can talk about is the fog. 

_ “Meteorologists are still at a loss for an explanation of Saturday’s mysterious fog. The lack of traffic and general shutdown of activities yesterday has already been lamented by a number of businesses, as even once the fog suddenly withdrew around noon, many refused to go out again. Some have speculated a similar phenomenon to the fog that plagued the small rural town of Inaba nearly a decade ago, but no real correlation has been made thus far…” _

“Hey, uh...was work really busy because of all that?” Shio asks, pouring a glass of juice for herself. 

The nurse shakes her head, “We had one t-bone happen, soon after the fog set in, but otherwise no, most people played it smart and stayed inside, thankfully.”

The news reporter finishes his segment and a commercial plays for a new movie starring some former idol. Shio downs half her glass, “That’s good to hear.”

* * *

Komeki looks up from the counter as his pupil enters, staff clipped to her belt, and dressed in workout gear. “Right on time, that’s what I want to see from an apprentice.”

She bows, “Glad to hear, Komeki-sensei. So, what training is first today?”

Komeki gingerly gets to his feet and snorts with contempt, “Training? First, my dear, you will work. One cannot hope to be a skilled warrior if one is not disciplined enough...and despite your drive, I think you could do with some discipline.”

Shio opens her mouth to complain, having expected to do training first, but then closes it, and nods,”Very well. You’re the master, after all. Where should I start?”

Komeki tosses her a feather duster, “Everywhere.”

* * *

Three hours later, Shio’s dusted all the shelves twice, swept the floor, took out Komeki’s trash, and fixed a glass case that wouldn’t open smoothly before. The work wasn’t hard, but did end up boring her a fair amount, especially when Komeki said she couldn’t listen to music during it (“Hmph, you still have a ways to go if you think you can get away with cheap distractions.”)

As she displays her success with the case, her sensei nods approvingly, “Well done. Next week, I think I’ll have you polish everything.” Shio looks mortified at this, which makes Komeki laugh. “Now now, it’s all part of your schooling. Speaking of, you’ve done enough today. Let’s head out back so I can begin to impart my wisdom on you.”

‘Out back’ turns out to be a small courtyard behind the shop, with piles of junk around the perimeter and several training dummies in a crowded corner, one missing its head. Patches of grass crop up here and there, however most of the ground in the yard is packed earth.

“Now, before we begin, I want to see how you approach combat with the staff. Display your prowess.” Komeki sits in a peeling, faded armchair that looks like it’s been left out in the rain for a decade, which Shio assumes it probably has.

“Er, alright.” She clicks it open and assumes a stance, holding it with both hands and her right foot planted behind her. Komeki’s eyes narrow, and Shio gulps, noticing his glare. She performs a few thrusts forward, some downward strikes, and other moves. Afterwards, she turns to Komeki, who’s crossed his arms.

“...not terrible, you understand the basic sensibilities of how one would use that weapon in battle, but your technique is unrefined, sloppy. Your attacks might do damage to your opponents, but they’ll cost you your balance and your energy, making the tradeoff almost not worth the effort at all if you approach at the wrong angle.” 

He stands and hobbles over to her, and begins adjusting the way her arms and legs are positioned. “The front hand is the guide, the back hand is the power, so they should be gripped differently. You mustn’t curve your spine this much, it’ll strain you later in life...trust me, I should know.”

Once he’s done, he has Shio perform the same moves again, and this time she feels a real difference. They’re minute discrepancies, but they all come together to feel like she would actually be doing more if she was fighting a demon. “Oh wow.”

Komeki smirks, “Now you understand the importance of keeping your body aligned with proper positioning. Always do so, get it to be routine so you don’t think about it, then you can devote more brainpower to strategy. Now, let’s start with some basic staff workouts to get you more accustomed to it being in your hands.”

* * *

A few hours of training later, and Shio’s out of breath from the constant motion she’s been in the whole time, save the few moments of relief where Komeki would show her a new way to get stronger. Her master hands her a bottle of water, which she downs greedily. 

“You’ve improved admirably, Kiyo-chan, however there’s still much more work for you to do. I want you to practice every day, stay in shape.”

“Of course, sensei,” Shio wipes a trickle of water from the corner of her mouth. 

Komeki hands her an envelope on the way out, “Your pay for your work today.”

Shio stares at it, “Wait, what? I thought-I didn’t know you were paying me for this.”

The samurai scoffs and hits her on the head with it, “Foolish girl, you did work today. I’m not a monster who doesn’t pay people for their hard effort. Always question those who do not reward true effort.”

The green-haired woman rubs where the paper hit and gratefully accepts it, bowing, “Thank you very much, Komeki-sensei. I’ll see you this time next week?”

He smiles warmly, “I look forward to it.”

**Monday, May 4th, 2020**

The Monday after the fog incident, a fair number of people on campus are gossiping about it and its implications. The talk shows haven’t let up on speculations either, bringing on experts from various fields to explore the phenomenon from every angle. 

Shio is surprised to find that there aren’t many people connecting the fog with the previous actions of the ADs, considering how they were the talk of the town beforehand. 

Come lunchtime, Shio elects to just get a snack and read during the break. After grabbing an energy bar and treating herself to a soda, the Fool wanders until she finds an unoccupied tree, which she plops herself down under, and fishes a book out of her bag.

Since maturing into a young woman, Shio’s managed to keep herself cool and collected in most situations. In high school, her academic prowess and track running had gotten her to a fairly popular place, which was helpful in assimilating her to a more socialized persona, after years of being reserved from her father’s untimely passing. She’d become an adept young woman, capable of navigating through any and all situations...save for asking a girl out.

Her sexuality was essentially an open secret in school, after rejecting a good number of boys who’d asked her out. Even so, she never could muster the courage to reveal her feelings for a senpai, and when they’d graduated, Shio had resigned herself to waiting, choosing instead to focus on other endeavors until the time came when someone would enter her life and make her want to open that door again.

The thing is, she didn’t expect it to happen so soon, or for them to affect her so greatly.

Halfway through Shio’s break, a shadow falls across her and she becomes aware of a pair of legs facing her at the edge of her vision. Looking up she’s startled to find Misaki, who has her hands on her hips and is leaning forward, a grin on her face. “Hey you.”

Shio really hopes the girl’s shadow is obscuring her pink cheeks, “Oh, uh, hi.”

Misaki wags her finger, “You weren’t there for the meeting on Saturday.”

The younger woman’s eyes widen and she smacks her forehead, “I  _ knew _ I forgot something, I-”

Shio’s senior laughs wholeheartedly, “You know I’m kidding, right? The meet was cancelled because of the fog. Did you not get the notice?”

The pink only gets worse after that, and Shio laughs a bit shakily, “Haha, uh, no, I got...I was busy, and didn’t even think about it.”

Misaki seems to not notice (or, Shio thinks, pretends to not) the other girl’s nervousness, and straightens back up. “It was a shame though, I was actually going to be on time for once.” To Shio’s alarm, she drops her bag and sits next to her, stretching her arms up and yawning, “I did not get enough sleep last night.”

Heart beating faster, Shio racks her mind for a Persona that fits the situation, “ _ Why are none of you good with women?! Or even just flirting! _ ”

Jack Frost hangs his head,  _ “Sorry boss.” _

_ “Pff, I exist to kill things, women are irrelevant,” _ Ippon-Datara mutters. 

_ “I’m a woman you idiot. You’re next on the fusion chopping block.” _

The conversation playing out in her head distracts Shio from actually listening to her crush, “You alright?”

The Wild Card flinches, “Ah shit, sorry, just, lost in thought...what’d you say?”

“What’cha reading?” The vice president asks curiously, adjusting her skirt.

“Oh, uh…” She passes the worn novel to the other woman, “Part of this old crime series my mom likes.”

Misaki brushes back some of her hair behind her ear and turns the book over to read the blurb on the back, “Huh, neat. Any good?”

“‘S’alright. Wish the main guy wasn’t as misogynistic.” She accepts the relic as it’s handed back to her, and decides to put it away for the day. “So, um...how’s it going?”

“Oh y’know, life. It’s happening. I have to start preparing expense reports for last month, write an essay for Friday, go to work today and tomorrow, do homework, and find a couple of the other new members and introduce myself.” She sighs with a tired smile, “Being VP is hard.”

“Ahhhh, so you’re going around to all us newbies I guess?” Misaki nods, “Aww damn, I thought I was special,” she jokes.

Misaki’s small laugh sends flutters through Shio’s heart, and she covertly pinches her own leg to keep herself focused. “Well, prove it to me. Get involved at club, plant a tree _ ,  _ do something impressive,  _ save the earth _ .” 

“That’s...a pretty high expectation for that last one.”

The woman gives a half-hearted shrug and a quick wink, which doesn’t help Shio’s nerves at all, “I’m sure you’ll manage, Kiyomizu-chan.”

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Justice Arcana…**

“Well, there are meetings on Tuesday mornings, but hardly anyone attends those since they’re so early, so I presume I’ll see you Saturday?” Misaki asks, getting to her feet and smoothing her skirt out.

“Y-yeah, absolutely.”

“See you then, girl,” Shio’s crush flashes a ‘peace’ sign and heads away.

She lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. “God, I’m a disaster.” The young woman rubs her face, “I need to get better at this.”

_ “Gee boss, how’re you gonna do that-ho?” _ Jack Frost inquires.

She lowers her hands, with a determined look on her visage,  _ “By watching more gay dramas.” _

**Tuesday, May 5th, 2020**

Shio’s walking across campus to go home when her phone buzzes with an unknown number. Reluctant to answer, she stows it back in her pocket, figuring they’ll leave a message if it’s important/someone she actually knows.

A couple minutes later, it happens.

“SHIIIIIOOOO!”

She turns and winces as something small and energetic collides with her, burying its face in her shoulder. 

“Um, Agatha,” Shio says, arms clamped to her sides, “Please let go of me.”

The gardener blanches and backs off, looking embarrassed. “I-I’m sorry, I just got excited to see you, and then you didn’t answer my call, so I was kinda worried, and-”

“Wait wait wait, hold up-YOU called me?” She pulls her phone out and looks at the unknown number. After staring at it for a moment, she realizes that the numbers match up with the English alphabet to form ‘VELVETR,’ and she knows enough of the language to know what that signifies. “...oh. My bad.”

“It’s OK, I just really wanted to see you! The master said I could come visit and see your world!”

Shio now becomes acutely aware of the fact that several people have stopped walking to stare at the two of them, and decides that this conversation is best held elsewhere. The Fool grabs her ward’s hand and guides her away. “This way.”

“Oh boy oh boy, this is going to be fun!” Agatha says cheerily.

_ “Oh gods.” _

* * *

On the way to a local park, Shio has to drag Agatha from three stores, promising to take her to them another day. “Let’s just get something to eat and enjoy the nice weather today. You’re bouncing around too much, people are going to stare at us.”

Agatha’s face falls at this comment, looking sorrowful. “I’m sorry for being such a burden…”

Shio stops as they enter the park and looks back, regretting her choice of words. “No no, you’re not a burden Agatha.” She sighs, fully facing the attendant and placing her hands on hands on her shoulders, “I just haven’t had to be in charge of...well, for lack of a better word, a sibling before, and I want what’s best for you. Yes, you’re a little jumpy, and that is hard for me, but I’m also worried that you’ll get taken advantage of. And I’m not letting that happen.”

Tears well up in Agatha’s eyes, “Shio…” she sniffs, “thank you…”

“Now, come on, I think there’s a stand around here that has ice cream.” She tugs on the gardener’s arm and pulls her along.

They find the cart soon enough, and Shio watches in amusement as Agatha marvels at her three-scoop cone. “Wow…”

“Go on, taste it.”

After the first lick, Agatha goes in for several more in quick succession, which only leads to her having a brain freeze. “Owwwww,” she holds her head with her free hand, wincing.

“Haha, you have to pace yourself.” They relocate to a nearby bench, Shio with a few napkins at the ready for the girl’s fast-melting treat.

A few minutes later, Shio helps her clean up the mess that resulted in Agatha having sticky hands, and then tosses the refuse away.

“So. In return for the ice cream, I want you to talk to me about demons, and Personas.”

Agatha stretches her arms, “Just, in general? Like a rundown?”

“Yeah. I get the concepts of them, separately, but since I can take demons on as Personas, I feel like there’s a missing link.”

“Oh, sure. I can understand that.” She unclips her compendium from her side and opens it to diagrams of demons and Personas, for reference. Before starting, she takes a deep breath, and as she starts her normal cheery tone shifts to be more professional-sounding.

“Have you ever studied psychology?”

Shio nods, “I took a class last year, yeah. Huh, guess I should’ve put that together already.”

“Mhm. Like the master’s told you, a Persona is another self, a mask that you wear, a way to present yourself to the world. A mask that manifests and defends you from danger. The thing that he hasn’t discussed that you haven’t been confronted with yet are Shadows.”

“Shadows are, in essence, a Persona in a different form. They’re a side of people they don’t want to see, born of negativity. Everything with a conscience will have a Shadow, though some are fiercer, more powerful than others. In the past, some people with the potential have tamed their Shadow in order to gain their Persona, but it’s technically not required; in denying yourself, your Persona will be chained down, won’t grow, and never attain its true potential.”

Agatha flips to a page with an illustration that constantly shifts, showcasing what Shio assumes to be some sort of other world. 

“Where Shadows become important for you is that you call them by another name-demons. Both Shadows and demons originate from the same reality-to you, the Sea of Souls, but in other circles it’s known as _the_ _Expanse_ , the plane of demons. It’s a realm connected to the collective unconscious, shaped by thousands of years of human religion, belief systems, societies, emotions, popular culture, anything humans think about. Think about how your Personas are recognizable figures-Suijin, the Shinto deity of water. Pixie, an amalgamation of human thought regarding fairies.”

“Even though they have the same origin, the monikers ‘Shadow’ and ‘demon’ have different connotations. Shadows are purely cognitive, and also tend to be more generic, masses of negativity that lash out and exist solely to wreak havoc. In contrast, demons are more matured thoughts and feelings, having a personality, and also are able to exist in the physical world because they’re more entrenched in thought. They still come from the Sea of Souls, though, which is how you’re able to accept them as Personas. As the Wild Card, you are the anchor between worlds. Sure, your friends have Personas too, but the infinite well of potential in you...it’s a much more concrete link. Every Wild Card before you has left an indelible mark on the world, in some way.”

“So, no pressure huh?” Shio mutters. “That’s...a whole lot.”

Agatha slips from her teacher's tone, smiling again, “Hehe, yeah, it is. It took me a while to get it all down and memorized.”

“What do you mean by cognitive worlds?”

“Oh, those are realms formed from the collective unconscious in some way. They aren’t the Sea or Expanse, but they’d leak into each other. Different ones tend to crop up every once in a while and end up causing some trouble. Sometimes they’re shared by the masses, others are the product of a single person’s distorted desires.”

“So, that feeds into something that’s really bugging me-demons come from the Expanse, a world of human thought, but they typically are encountered in places that aren’t cognitive, right?”

“That’s generally true.”

“...does, that mean that the AR is the real, physical world?”

The gardener closes the compendium, “That’s a reasonable assumption, yes.”

* * *

Once she’s dropped Agatha off at the Velvet Room, Shio heads home, pondering their conversation the whole time.

_ “So, it’s...definitely not this Maebashi...but it’s not some fake...it’s the real deal...and it’s an older one too…” _ Shio runs through the information in her head, trying to make sense of it all. After hitting a few dead ends, she elects to wait for the Knights’ meeting later in the week to discuss her findings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one got out late, and it's kinda short, and that...it could be a bit better. Combination of work suddenly really stressing me out, playing Last of Us 2, writer's block in regards to both romance and damn info dumps, and...generally being very damn tired. I need a vacation. 
> 
> Since this is a college fic, in my mind Shio's already maxed out all the social stats you build up, so she'd be acing any speech checks or social link barriers. However, she's also a useless lesbian, so...that's where she has to grow. And trust me, she will. ;)  
> I rewrote her romance backstory half a dozen times, from being rejected to having a girlfriend several years ago, trying to figure out how to strike the balance of Gay Panic and Cool-headed. Hoping that comes across well.
> 
> Shio will also channel the almighty power of yu "big bro" narukami. 
> 
> In-between the last chapter and this one I thought of something Big and fuck am I excited for it. It's kinda dumb buuuut it's gonna rule.
> 
> SO, something that's always felt a bit weird to me is people in the games saying "you've accepted yourself" or whatever when they get their Persona, but then their SL has them realize it again. Or, the character in Innocent Sin who actually outright denies their Shadow entirely.  
> It's not an overt focus of this fic, but I wanted to make the distinction.
> 
> BTW, should probably clarify some ages:  
> Shio is 19, will turn 20 during the fic  
> Yuki and Ryushi are 18, will both turn 19 during the fic  
> Mikoto has just turned 20.  
> Misaki is newly 21.  
> Agatha is 15. Well, in maturity. I don't know if Velvet siblings actually live for that long or if they just...are created that way.
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)   
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito   
> Justice-Misaki Hasegawa  
> Fortune-Kotori Watanabe (Swim Team)  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima   
> Temperance-Mikoto Goda  
> Star-Agatha


	12. Growing from the Soul

**Wednesday, May 6th, 2020**

Shio walks into the flat on her return home and almost immediately notices that her aunt is slumped over the counter, her unkempt hair splayed out around her. 

She approaches her tentatively, “Um, Akari-san?”

The brunette stirs, indicating consciousness, though she keeps her head down in her crossed arms. “Mmph, what?” Her muffled voice is tinged with a bit of sorrow that Shio picks up on.

The niece sets her bag down and closes the distance between them, putting one hand on her back and another on the woman’s forearm. “Is...everything alright?”

Shio’s aunt lifts her head, her eyes red, noticeable tear-stains down her cheeks, and marks pressed in from her head being down for a long time. “Y-yeah, of course. I just...finished that show I was watching, so-”

“Akari-san, you were only halfway through season 2 last night. Please, don’t lie to me…”

Akari fliches, sniffling, “I...would rather not talk about it, Shio-chan.”

She blinks and hesitates before her response, “...are you sure?”

The aunt is more assertive this time, “Yes.”

“...OK.”

…

…

“...would you like me to make dinner tonight? Or go grab takeout? What’d be best for you?”

“...I could really go for some yakisoba.”

* * *

As they finish their noodles, Akari (who has since cleaned up and removed traces of her earlier sadness) looks guiltily at her niece.

“Listen, Shio-chan, I’m sorry for being a bit abrasive earlier. I’m just...not in a place to talk about things right now.” The woman fiddles with a lock of her hair, “I appreciate you offering help, but-”

“Akari-san, I understand, I really do,” Shio interrupts, looking directly at her aunt, “I’m around if you do want to, though.”

“...thank you.” Shio stands and steps closer, offering a hug, which her aunt accepts.

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Hermit Arcana…**

She breaks away and takes her aunt’s plate, “Now go relax or sleep or whatever you want to do. Let me clean up. And tomorrow night, Endo’s will be my treat this time.”

“...that’s nice, thank you.” Akari smiles for the first time that night.

**Thursday, May 7th, 2020**

**Shio:** OK team, today is meeting day. We got lots of shit to get thru. I have notes

 **Ryushi:** wait. Notes?? 

**Yuki:** where we doing this at

 **Mikoto:** I’m available any time today.

 **Shio:** well the mall was a bit too crowded for my taste last time tbh. 

**Yuki:** A park?

 **Shio:** anywhere that’s too exposed feels off to me. I’d prefer privacy

 **Ryushi:** well. Not my dorm lol

 **Mikoto:** I might have somewhere that works well.

* * *

Mikoto gives them directions to an older building about forty minutes away from GU’s campus, located in a shopping district that’s more about family-run stores than more modern chains. Up on the second floor, they lead them to a door at the end of a hall.

The room is a fairly standard dance studio, with a polished wood floor and a metal handrail on one side, for practice. In tradition, an entire wall is a set of floor-to-ceiling mirrors, though they’re all a bit dusty, having gone months without attention.

“My sister owns this place-she runs her own little dance company,” the Temperance states, closing the door behind them. “She’s halfway through a year-long stint in America, though, so this place isn’t being used for the time being. I think it’ll work well, especially because of the mirrors.”

Shio nods in agreement, walking over to the reflective surface and gently letting her fingers cross through. “This is really great, actually.”

Mikoto pulls out a whiteboard and a folding table from a closet in the back, which Ryushi rushes over to help with. Within a few minutes, they’ve got a few chairs set up, and have hung the board on a nearby wall. Shio finds some markers in the closet, and the other three sit around the table.

Shio cracks her knuckles, “We have a few really important things to discuss, both from what happened last Saturday and what I’ve been able to find out on my own from...sources.”

Ryushi leans forward, “Uh, ‘sources’?”

 _“I...could tell them, though even with all we’ve seen so far...I dunno how mentioning a door only I can see would go over. Best to do that later,”_ Shio thinks. “I consulted with some demons.”

This satisfies Yuki and Ryushi’s curiosity, however Mikoto is unconvinced. “What?”

“Oh, Shio’s a demon whisperer,” Ryushi jokes.

“Don’t encourage her,” Yuki says disapprovingly.

“Oh come on,” says Shio, planting her hands on her hips, ‘What’s wrong with me being a good talker, even if it does involve extra-dimensional monsters?”

“Oh, there’s actually nothing wrong with it. It simply interferes with me getting the chance to slam my bat into an asshole’s skull. It’s a good workout.” Yuki smirks, miming her swing.

“...ok, anyway,” Shio uncaps the dry erase marker and turns to the board, writing the date in the corner and then a first topic, ‘The nature of the ADs.’ “We kinda talked about this already, but I think it’s worth reiterating just in case.”

“Based on what we’ve seen so far, the ADs form into existence roughly every two weeks, and soon after they come into existence, something happens on this side.”

“I feel like the timing of this is important,” Yuki speaks up, “Based on what Pixie said that day, the Makami became an AD a little before it fought us. The Suzaku gave out a signal early in the morning, but didn’t become the thing we fought until our arrival.”

Shio nods, “And, if you’ll recall, it was screaming about like...eating Mikoto, or something. Using them as some sort of power. When the AD was still that ball of ash, it started to absorb them, and I managed to pull them away.”

Ryushi leans back in his seat and crosses his arms, “I kinda get where you’re going with this logic, but I wanna point out that things like the fog and other accidents still happened without anyone we know of being consumed. I checked police records and there’ve been no missing person reports in the greater Maebashi area in a few months.”

“See, I also thought about that, and it makes some sense. Then I think about the gas leak, and the fog. Both ADs involved in those incidents were killed, and didn’t...completely come to fruition, is how I’ll phrase it. The gas leak didn’t cause an actual explosion, and the fog lifted. My conclusion is that ADs don’t need a power source, but that having one there would likely cause their effect to be that much more disastrous, or simply more impactful.”

“Such as the fog spreading further, or staying in place longer,” Mikoto surmises. 

“Exactly. So it’s not _guaranteed_ to be an issue every time an AD makes itself known, though we would be foolish to pretend it won’t happen again.”

“Y’know,” Ryushi starts, “I just remembered how before the Makami appeared, Yuki kinda got kidnapped by those demons on our second visit. Kind of a similar situation-though the question is, why would they grab you? Do you live near the TV station?”

Mikoto shakes their head, “I’m on the western side of town, about 45 minutes away by walking. Proximity wasn’t the case here.”

Ryushi continues, “So they don’t always go for who’s closest in the real world...but there must be a specific reason they chose you, a Persona user of all people. Maybe that’s why? How many of us are there anyway?”

“I don’t think that’s something we can answer. What I do want to know is _who_ or _what_ pulled you in.” Yuki leans forward as she asks. 

“In the split-second it happened, it was definitely something ashy. As for what, I couldn’t tell you sadly. I was really caught off guard.”

“Dude, don’t worry about it. No one could be expected to react quickly in that situation,” the Chariot responds.

“That kind of puts us at a standstill for now in regards to that topic. We’ve learned more with each new AD, so I’m willing to bet new information will come to light on the next one’s arrival.” Shio puts the cap back on her marker,

They spend the next few minutes going over some old information for Mikoto, to make sure they’re properly up to speed and didn’t miss anything in their initial explanations.

“Shio, what were the notes you mentioned about?” Ryushi brings up afterwards.

The Wild Card takes a breath and leans back against the wall, “Well, so...I saved this topic for last because...it’s maybe the most important, or new at least.” She tugs on a lock of her hair, frowning, trying to get the words to form correctly. “So...I’m...pretty sure that the AR is the real world.”

There’s a moment of silence, before Ryushi raises his hand, “I’m pretty sure it’s not, actually. The real world doesn’t have a red sky.”

“Did any of you...read anything in the TV station?”

Ryushi and Yuki shake their heads.

“So, I happened to come across a report or whatever that was dated twenty-one years ago, in 1999.” Shio starts pacing back and forth, “I also found out that demons are...unique in that they tend to exist in physical realms. So the AR isn’t some mystical dimension, it’s more like an alternate timeline, except it’s one where some apocalypse occurred twenty-one years ago.”

The silence this time is more permeable as the other three drink in Shio’s hypothesis. Ryushi frowns in thought, while Yuki has pulled out her phone and is typing away in a search bar. Mikoto eventually speaks up, “From that bit of logic, I think that makes sense. I definitely noticed a couple buildings on our way back that have been torn down in the last decade, so That Maebashi is assuredly an older version of our own. What gives me pause is how this relates to this reality. I think you’re right, but why is that important?”

“Well, if the Other Maebashi is part of a reality that saw the world end, and it’s now somehow joined to ours...what if the ADs are bringing them together? _What if_ what happened over there is going to eventually happen here?”

Mikoto doesn’t have an answer to this. 

“Honestly, if we’re dealing with potential world-ending stuff...should we tell someone?” Yuki asks uncomfortably, “I mean...that’s just...a lot to consider. It was already a lot to have the responsibility to save innocent people, but possibly the whole world?”

Shio shakes her head, “I can’t see what good that would bring. Even if we could convince someone of authority, they might try and stop us from crossing over, or it could get leaked out and cause panic. Worst case, someone tries to bring demons over here. I’d...rather avoid that outcome.”

“...OK, that’s fair. Still kinda worries me.”

“I getcha. We’ll just have to stay on top of things. We’ve managed so far, and I’m sure we’ll only get stronger from here on out.” Shio stretches, her joints popping, “Anyone else have anything important to talk about? That’s it on my end.”

The other three shake their heads, so they decide to adjourn for the day. 

**Friday, May 8th, 2020**

After getting a text from Agatha (which still baffles her) to visit the Velvet Room, Shio heads to the place that exists between realms. Her not-actual-sister jumps up at her arrival.

“Shio-san! The garden’s ready for you now!”

She raises an eyebrow at Igor, “‘Garden?’”

The master of the Velvet Room cackles softly, “Why yes, Agatha has spent a lot of time preparing a special way for you to take advantage of your own configuration of the Velvet Room. I must say, I’m quite impressed with her creativity. I’m sure you’ll find it quite useful.”

Agatha grabs the Fool’s arm and pulls her through the greenhouse’s paths. “Whoa, jeez, slow down.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just so excited!” the attendant exclaims, before they arrive at one corner of the room. As opposed to the flowering plants everywhere else, here there’s several patches of earth, with nothing growing out of them. On the wall are a couple shelves that have a watering can, gloves, pruning shears, and a host of other gardening equipment. Agatha turns to her, beaming, “This’ll be your private garden!”

“...Isn’t this whole place kinda that?” Shio says, half-jokingly.

Agatha shakes her head, “Well, no, this is different. These will be your own plants to grow, and they’ll be able to produce medicine to use in combat, so you don’t have to rely on healing!”

Shio’s eyes widen, “Are you serious? How?”

“It’s actually kinda simple. So, you can choose to convert a Persona into some seeds, and then grow them with water from the sea of your soul, eventually bearing fruit that can be made into an elixir. They’ll have different effects based on which Personas you use, from healing to stat boosts, curing ailments, and more!”

“Holy shit...that’s amazing. But, uh, what about the Persona? Is that...weird for them? Honestly I’d feel like a jerk to make friends with one and then just throw it away like that.”

This question gives Agatha pause, “Well, it should be OK. It’s really like they’re returning to the Sea of Souls, like when you fuse them. The energy that’s released from it is simply being channeled in a different way. Like how blending some fruit to make a smoothie isn’t the same as drying it out and eating it that way.”

“...weird example, but alright I guess that clarifies it. Where do I get the water from?”

Agatha jerks her thumb down the path, where a small spring is visible, “Just over there. That water flows from you, so it has special properties. Actually, you might even be able to do other things with that spring too, though I’d have to do some experimentation and get back to you on it.”

Shio evokes Suijin and looks up at her Persona, “You alright with being the first test subject for this? I’ll just summon you back after I’m done anyway. Not having you around would be weird.”

The Persona chuckles, “Of course, I exist to aid you.” She closes her eyes and bows her head, “until we meet again.” As she finishes, the water goddess glows blue and turns into a blinding light, and once Shio unshields her eyes she finds a floating bag of seeds in front of.

Agatha helps her get some water and plant a couple of the seeds in one of empty spots in the rich soil plots. As soon as it’s watered, a small sprout emerges from the soil.

“Wow. That’s awesome. How long will it take for them to grow?”

“A day or two, I think. They’ll grow faster and might produce more yield if you have social links related to them, too.”

Shio crouches down and fondles the new sprout, “This is really cool. I’d love it if I could find a reliable way to get healing that doesn’t involve me spamming all my points.”

Agatha kneels beside her, “Well, you’ll just have to try everything!” She smiles brightly, “I’ll be sure to send you any info on if your plants bear fruit, or I discover something new in regards to how this works.” She runs her hand over the earth, “I kinda just came up with this idea on my own, to be honest. The master normally oversees development of new ways for you to develop yourself, but he let me do this.”

“That’s really nice of him.”

“Mhm! He’s been really supportive. I did get _some_ help from my little sister, but most of it was all me!”

Shio blinks, “Dang, how many siblings do you have?”

Agatha ticks them off her fingers as she talks, “There’s...one, two, three sisters, two older and one younger, and one older brother. So four.” She hesitates, blushing, “...and you, I guess.”

“You can call me your sister, if you want. You already act the part.” Shio chuckles, ruffling the other girl’s hair.

Agatha’s eyes widened, “Oh my god, yay!” She glomps Shio, who now has a dusting of pink across her cheeks.

“H-hey, be careful,” Shio grunts, rubbing the back of her head from where it connected with the stone pathway. 

The pair spend a bit more time planting a couple more Persona seeds, with Shio re-summoning them all afterwards (except Ippon-datara).

On her way out, Igor looks expectantly at her, “How did you find her project? I myself am quite impressed.”

“I am too. I’m sure it’ll help me and my friends greatly for our coming fights.” She takes a bow, “Thank you for trusting her with this endeavor.”

Igor nods, “She’s also working on an even more enticing project, unlocking a power related to the Wild Card that’s seldom used. It will take time, but should really make...a big _splash_ when it’s ready.” He giggles at his own joke.

**Saturday, May 9th, 2020**

Shio’s morning turns out to be uneventful. While she manages to see Misaki at her club meeting, the vice president turns out to be too busy to really interact with her personally, and then as soon as it ends her crush rushes out of the room, yelling behind her about some other commitment, much to the chagrin of the other senior members. Shio herself can’t help but laugh quietly to herself, though, and checking the time hurries out as well.

She reaches the field where Yuki’s team is playing just a few minutes before the first pitch. The field’s an old one connected to a high school, with chain link fences that have begun to rust. 

Yuki stands in the dugout with her team, giving them a pep talk before their first game of the season. Most of them look similarly excited and determined for the day, though a couple seem put off by Yuki’s fierce aura. Eventually they break and head out to the field, Yuki herself standing at the pitcher’s mound.

The first three innings see only one run scored for the opposing team, though Yuki manages to shut them out from getting any bases for two of them. Come the fourth, Yuki and another girl manage to get home, and the rest of the game sees both teams manage to score at least a run each time they’re up to bat. 

When the last out is confirmed, Yuki’s team wins by a run, which they celebrate joyously. Shio chuckles as she watches Yuki throw her arms around a couple of them and whoop gleefully.

Once things have died down a bit, Shio leans against one of the fences until Yuki, who’s busy packing up, notices her. The brunette smiles, “Oh hey, you did come!”

“Of course I did,” Shio remarks. 

“That went really well. Er, it was kinda iffy there at first, but then they all came through,” Yuki rambles, “I was worried after those strikeouts in the second, but Akane had that nice catch in the third, and then Izumi slugged that amazing hit to get me home in the fourth.” She smiles, “This is why I love this game. The big plays always give you a nice rush of adrenaline.” Yuki hoists her bag over her shoulder and heads around the fence to meet Shio, with the two setting off together.

“Everyone else seemed to be feeling that too. You seem like you’ve got a good team,” Shio says, glancing back at the couple of lollygagging teammates who haven’t left yet.

“Oh yeah, they’re all great…” she trails off, her grin fading. “I have to be tough on them, but they get the job done.”

Shio glances sideways and catches a hint of distaste on the other girl’s face. “...are they alright with that?”

“Oh, oh yeah, it’s just tough love,” she answers offhandedly.

The pair talk less after that, and eventually split off, heading their separate ways.

* * *

Hey, here's some art I did of Shio! Tried to emulate Soejima's style, with both her normal look and her flashy eyes for when she's got Suijin evoked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did Igor make a pun? Igor made a pun. I've done a terrible thing.
> 
> Please let me know if things could be improved in any way! I'm struggling mostly with trying to make individual characters have different voices. Sometimes they all feel too much like me. And the stress of real life is really piling on, so...I'm afraid it's taking away my ability to focus on writing. 
> 
> I wanted Shio's VR to be unique to her, and to have actual potential gameplay features, mainly inspired by the various executions from 5. There'll be a couple more new things for her to do there in the future!
> 
> I haaaated writing these info dumps tbh. So glad they won't happen again for awhile. Now it's just small discoveries again haha.
> 
> I think I am going to remove one of the planned social links-Endo was going to be one, but looking at the number I have lined up already...eh, that time is better spent elsewhere. I'm also now doubting about filling those links in later, since the sequel is a more appealing venture. That's all up in the air. 
> 
> The Persona 3 approach of "well this date is when the bad thing happens" has felt good for this fic. I love P4 but the idea of being able to leave someone in the TV World for like three weeks...I don't care for that. Of course, the AD's dates are unknown, but...well, I still like it better.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, it means a lot you've stuck with my story so far. We're a couple chapters out from a big turning point, so look forward to that! ;)


	13. A Fiend's Challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/W: Graphic violence

**Sunday, May 10th, 2020**

“Your form is consistently improving, though I find that you’re putting too much power into your thrusts especially,” Komeki notes as Shio drains a bottle of water after an hour of straight training. “The balance of power is tipped too heavily in your back hand-while the front guides, it also keeps you stable. Too much effort for each attack will lead to over exertion.”

“Y-yes Komeki-sensei,” Shio tosses the bottle on a pile of the ones she’s already finished, and resumes her practicing. Her master has pulled out one of the dummy’s today, and the already-beaten mannequin is now looking worse for wear than ever, with part of its shoulder gone and a hole through its stomach.

Komeki paces around her as she goes at it, noting any ways to improve herself.

Near the end of the day’s allotted lessons, he sits back down in his chair, “...I’m willing to begin teaching you the more secret techniques of the Komeki School of Martial Arts.”

The woman wipes her grassy bangs away, “Secret techs?”

She’s met with a nod, “Of course. I wouldn’t be a master of the arts if I hadn’t developed my own moves after decades of observation and honing my own skills.”

“I’m honored, sensei,” she gives a bow, “What will I be taught first?

He strokes his goatee, “I think that countering is one of the most essential skills to know; using an enemy’s force against them. With a staff it is much harder than with two fists, however it is doable.” He sighs, “However I now realize that it’s folly to teach you such moves without a way to properly practice. I must find you a training partner, to spar while I take note of your prowess. Alas, I myself am too far gone to do it myself.”

“Alright, if you think that’s best Komeki-sensei,” Shio runs a hand through her tousled hair and begins the stretching routines she was previously taught, to get her muscles to calm down and not get too tense after stressing them so much.

Komeki pulls a flip phone out of his robe pocket and begins to dial a number, “I believe I have a candidate that would suit you well, however I must see if they are available at our allotted times. I will get back to you on this. Your work’s pay is right behind the desk, grab it on your way out after your stretches.” He smiles, getting to his feet, “Good work today, Kiyomizu-chan.” He walks away, putting the phone up to his ear.

“Of course, thank you Komeki-san!” She calls after him, grunting at the relief of her efforts.

**Monday, May 11th, 2020**

**Ryushi:** Hey, can you hang today? 

**Ryushi:** I uh

**Ryushi:** I got stuff on my mind

**Shio:** Yea dude of course. I’m done class in 20.

**Ryushi:** Awesome, ty. 

* * *

The two end up at the Kanzato Lab, in an attempt at finding privacy. Shio sits against the back wall watching Ryushi pace back and forth in front of her for a minute before he sits next to her with a sigh.

The youth continuously kneads his hands together, a pained expression on his face. He opens and closes his mouth more than once, before rubbing his face, “God sorry, I’m trying to figure out how to say this.”

“Hey, seriously, take your time. I’ve got all day.” Shio fishes in her bag and finds half the box of pocky she was eating earlier, “Want one?”

He lowers his hands and laughs as he eyes the box, “Do you always have pocky on you?”

“Guilty.”

Ryushi gratefully accepts a couple and chews slowly before swallowing. “I’m...well, you probably already know this, but…” he stops and closes his eyes, “...I wasn’t...born a guy…”

Shio watches him patiently, and when he doesn’t continue she speaks, “I’d surmised you weren’t cisgender, but didn’t wanna pry until you felt comfortable.” She reaches and puts her hand on the young man’s shoulder, “I’m honored you confided in me, and I’m here for you...you do just use he/him, right? I’m sorry for never asking.”

He opens his eyes and smiles at her response and nods, “Yeah, just that. Thanks…”

Her expression darkens, “If anyone’s ever shitty to you, just call me. I’ll bring Suijin with me.”

Ryushi bursts into laughter, doubling over and holding his stomach. When he calms down, he answers, “I’m now imaging you yelling ‘fuck transphobes’ with your eyes glowing and shit. That sounds rad.”

“I do mean it though. If you have to vent about people or your body or whatever, I’m here, as I’m sure Yuki is too. We just met Mikoto, but they’re, well, them. I’m sure they’ve dealt with some of the same issues.” Shio leans back in her seat. “Really though, fuck transphobes.”

He laughs again, “Yeah, Yuki’s been great. She’s corrected more people than I have. I owe her.”

“Hey, she’s just being a friend. A friend who does the right thing.”

“True…”

Shio pauses, “...thankfully most of my interactions in high school were fine. I never said I was a lesbian, but everyone knew it. None of my friends shied away from me or anything, which was great. Mostly just got some shit from a couple guys who were offended when I rejected them.”

“Damn, that sucks.”

“Eh, I was captain of the track team. Too many people had my back and gave them death glares until they left me alone.” Shio lifts her legs up and wraps her arms around them tightly, “I’ve been lucky to not face too much...y’know. Except for the fact that I was single the whole time.” She makes a face.

Ryushi chuckles, “Haha. I managed to date a guy for a few months. He was the first I came out to besides Yuki...he...didn’t take it as well. Er, in the sense that he just broke up with me pretty quick afterwards. He accepted it, just...didn’t accept he could like a guy, I guess.”

“Fuck, that’s awful. To me that doesn’t really count as acceptance, because at the end of the day you’re still you. You’re just the better, true you. That’s just my impression though.”

“Yeah...yeah…” Ryushi sighs heavily, “Life’s a bitch, huh?”

“Uh huh.” Shio stands and stretches, groaning a bit. “How about we go get ramen or something? My treat.”

“That sounds nice.” He pauses, “Hey, uh...thanks…I’ve said it before, but you’ve saved my life on multiple occasions, been there any time I need you...and I’ve known you a month haha.”

Shio waves her hand, “Dude, we’re friends. We’re also like, comrades or something. I’ll go to bat for you any day of the week. And the gays gotta stick together, right?”

He laughs one more time, “Yeah, one-hundred percent.” He makes a face, “Though I’m bi.”

“Eh, close enough.” She shoulders her bag and offers her hand to help him up.

He takes it and allows her to pull him up, and then grabs his bag.

Shio turns and begins to head out, not taking note of Ryushi’s cheeks being slightly flushed. He sighs before shaking his head and hurrying after her.

**Thursday, May 14th, 2020**

Once everyone’s done with their studies, Shio has them meet up at the dance studio for a day’s combat training. They spend a few minutes before crossing over discussing their planned route; to head a few blocks through town and make a loop before returning home.

The first few battles of the day confirm that Kuebiko is not a true combative Persona; instead, it’s able to send out what functions as a buff to the team’s defense, speed, or general power for the whole fight, as long as Mikoto has the mental reserves for it. Plus they have healing waves, though these are also limited and disrupt the buffs when they’re activated. Mikoto makes up for their lack of offensive magic and physical Persona skills with both their own punches and slams, as well as the information that Kuebiko provides. Shio feels fine functioning as leader and doling out advice, but she finds that Mikoto analyzing the entire battle provides a clearer picture for the whole group, and lets her act a bit more independently.

“You’re pretty great at this Mikoto,” she praises as she finishes off a Shiisa. She’s noticed that they’ve been more enthusiastic at times while fighting, letting their normally calm, composed demeanor slip a little bit.

They flash her a thumbs-up after helping Ryushi deal with a swarm of Onmorakis. “Thanks! It’s all thanks to Kuebiko. I just see  _ everything _ right now, it’s...wild.”

A couple skirmishes later, down the street, Shio sees a silhouette she recalls running from a few weeks ago. Her eyes widened. “...It’s...him…”

Yuki looks over her shoulder, “Wait, what?”

Shio points in the distance, at a skeleton walking towards them, dressed in white pants and a green and gold jacket, along with a hat and boots that match his top. He stops a bit before them and flourishes a red cape, while also pulling out a curved saber. “Hmph, I recall your earlier cowardice, child. You could not bear to lose to my great power as the ultimate warrior, and fled.”

Shio steps closer and looks up at the demon, hands on her hips, glaring up at Matador. “Hey, I just wasn’t ready at the time. I was still new to this, y’know?”

“Shio, I’m pretty sure we’re still-” Ryushi says.

“ANYWAY,” Shio interrupts, “I’m ready to take you on.”

Matador’s bones rattle as he laughs, “Very well, young child. I will grace you with a battle against yours truly, Matador. However, this time…” He flourishes his capote, and a glowing barrier forms around both the demon and Shio. Her friends cry out and try breaking through it, to no avail; Matador jumps back to the other side of the newly formed arena, and gets into a battle stance, “...you’ll have to face me alone. Duels are for one-on-one fights, after all.”

“Shio, c’mon, get out of there, don’t be an idiot! We were steamrolled by this dude before!” Yuki bangs on the barrier, which functions like a glass wall between them. 

Shio ignores her and cracks her knuckles, a familiar smirk appearing on her face, “I accept.”

“Is she...always like this?” Mikoto asks.

“I think she’s getting worse with every fight.” Ryushi sighs, resigning from trying to help her. 

“ELIGOR!” With Shio’s cry appears a mounted knight with blood red armor, who raises his spear and charges toward the Matador. 

The skeleton chuckles and dodges purposefully, making the move look effortless. He waves his capote again, which causes him to briefly shine with green light. Once it fades, he kicks off towards Shio with his saber raises, crossing the whole arena in half a second. The Fool barely has time to try and pull her staff up to block, and gets a running cut along her forearms. 

“Ah  _ fuck _ ,” she rasps, quickly snapping a switch to High Pixie to get off a heal, a thin white line being the only indicator of her flesh being torn open. “You’re pretty fast.”

“Hmph, a warrior must be agile to be the best. Strength does not matter if one cannot land the blow at all.” Matador immediately throws out a flurry of wind spells that Shio barely manages to escape from. As she recovers, she has Eligor come at the demon from one side, and she does the other. The pinch attack fails miserably, as Matador jumps directly upward and Shio has to dismiss Eligor at the last moment to avoid a head-on collision. 

She tries another few different approaches to taking down her foe, and the end result sees her panting heavily whilst the bullfighter stands across from her and watches, unscathed and amused.

“Shio, you really aren’t ready for him! Get the fuck out of there!” Yuki’s desperately been trying to get her friend to give up for awhile now, while the others simply nod in support, resigned to having their voices fall on deaf ears.

Shio racks her brain for some way to beat the demon. 

_ “He’s way too fast. If I had the others, we’d likely win, but taking him on solo was a bit too much for me to chew on...hm…” _

Matador flourishes his capote again, and glows green, “Ha, you young fool, have you run out of strategies? None could hope to match my own.”

_ “I gotta think outside the box...there has to be a way…”  _ After a few seconds, she snaps her fingers, which lets Suijin appear above.

“This had better work,” she mumbles to herself, “Suijin! Make it rain!”

Her Persona complies and throws her hands out, which causes a small storm cloud to appear over the battlefield, and then pour down on the Fool and the demon.

Matador laughs, “Very well, you’ve gotten me wet. Don’t think that this will slow me down-my speed is unhindered by the likes of anything!” 

Shio grimaces, “You keep dodging my attacks, but you’ve barely managed to make a dent in me either. If you’re going to win this duel, you have to deal some real damage.”

The skeleton laughs derisively, “Come now, I’ve simply been enjoying toying with you. If you’re ready to die now...I’ll gladly oblige!” He jets off, saber pulled back and ready to slice her open.

Shio has to twist her body to avoid the steel, but as she does the bullfighter deftly throws his elbow back, and she goes hard into the pavement, her nose letting out a sickening crunch. Everyone except Matador flinches violently. Suijin dissolves away, and the yellow glow of Shio’s eyes fades away.

“A shame, you truly seemed as though you had improved your combat prowess.” Blood pools around Shio’s head as the bullfighter chides her. “If this is all it takes to beat you, I’m afraid you’ll never make it far in this world...not that you’ll survive another minute.” Deciding he’s won, the demon takes on a leisurely stride as he approaches his opponent’s body, and grabs her by the hair, lifting her up so that they’re face to face.

Shio, the lower half of her face soaked in blood, her nose bent at an angle, is  _ grinning _ .

“Noh man, nyou’re stronng,” she says, blood dribbling off her chin. “Now I really want to fight nalongside nyou.”

Her bravado impresses the demon, who laughs wholeheartedly, “I admire your courage, young one, but still you have lost the duel, and-” he holds his sword up to her neck, “-that means you lose your life.”

“Shio!”

“Girl stop smiling and DO SOMETHING!”

“This isn’t the time for snark! Protect yourself!”

Shio again ignores her friends and smiles more broadly at the bullfighter, “Nhave nigh lost? Nigh dunno-” down by her side, she quietly snaps her finger and her eyes flare up into a familiar blue, “-nigh’m just ngetting started, baby.”

Too late, the Matador realizes he’s left himself open, and tries to go for the kill, before two blades cut through his chest and emerge on the other side, the tips tickling Shio’s shirt: Suijin, behind the demon, growls.

Despite impalement, the bullfighter cackles, “I’m a _ skeleton _ , I do not have flesh to pierce, you fool. Your clever ploy has failed you.”

“Guess again dude.” She snaps again, except only one of her eyes switches to a bright yellow, crackling with electricity. 

The next few seconds plays out in slow motion for the demon; he watches as High Pixie rematrializes over Shio’s shoulder, the small fairy smirking in the same way as the green-haired woman. He also feels the blades decouple from their source, as Suijin detaches them and leaps away to a safe distance. A ball of electricity appears in High Pixie’s hands and jumps to the metal blades stuck inside him. The combination of Matador’s wet clothing and the impaled blades serve to greatly augment the attack, making the demon yell in anguish.

By the time the voltage has faded, Matador is on his knees, with embers of his being beginning to fade away. “Hmph...despite your lack of power, you managed to find a way to best me, the Fiend Matador...I commend you on your success, child.”

The barrier finally fades as Shio gets to her feet after being dropped, the blood on her face beginning to dry, somehow making her look even crazier than before. “Nyou weren’t so bad nyourself. Wanna team up with me?”

The fiend looks at her, “...very well. I’m impressed with your prowess. I, Matador, will lend you my strength.” His dissolving energy flies into her, and she then switches back to High Pixie, who douses her in a healing spell; the nose cracking back into place is a bit painful, though. Her blood retreats into her body, and the sudden loss/gain of it all makes her stumble a little bit.

The three lesser Knights stride forward, Yuki looking furious, “Shio, you have got to control yourself. That move was nearly suicidal!” 

The Fool shrugs, “It was a gamble. You have to make those in combat sometimes, it’s just how it works.”

“Shio, she’s right. You’re not wrong about risk, but it’s one thing to do that in a judo match; it’s another when fighting a flashy demon that nearly kills you.” Mikoto says, stern but still their normal calm self, “Just try and think twice next time, OK? It’s impressive, but…”

Ryushi interjects, “You can’t get that girl to like you if you’re dead.”

Shio stops trying to get flecks of blood out of her shirt, her cheeks pink “...OK, yeah. That’s fair.”

Yuki looks exasperated, “Really? That’s what gives you cause for concern? We’re gonna need to have an intervention at this rate.”

The Knight’s leader is silent for a moment before she sighs, “...OK, that’s...probably true.” She sits against a car and rubs her face, “It’s like, something makes my blood boil once we’re about to start. It’s this instinct I didn’t know I had…” Her fingers fiddle with the hem of her jeans, “...I just  _ enjoy _ getting into fights…”

Mikoto sits next to her, “Hey, that’s fine...mostly. I wouldn’t do judo if I didn’t enjoy it. The thing is, that’s recreational. That was your life on the line...value yourself more, OK? We all care about you. You’re the one who’s saved us from dying more than once...we’d kinda all feel really bad if we failed to save you in your time of need.”

“Ha,” she replies weakly, “I guess…” Shio stares off down the road, where a couple low-level demons are playing around together, “...I um...fighting sometimes feels like...it’s the one time I can...get away from myself, if that makes sense…”

“Having distractions is OK. Having distractions that endanger your life…,maybe not so much,” Ryushi comments, fingering one of his knives.

“Yeah…” Shio stands, “Sorry, I’ll try and be better.”

“At the very least, have some more self-preservation. Like, I enjoy this a fair amount too,” Yuki admits, “but that doesn’t mean I go gunning for a deathmatch every chance I can.”

Shio clutches her locket between her fingers and nods.

* * *

The rest of the day’s fighting is a bit more subdued. Shio refrains from evoking Matador, despite the fiend’s whispers in her ear to do so. Once everyone’s tired out, they begin making their way back to the dance studio, a few blocks away.

“Hey. Hey, hey you, girly.”

Shio spins on her heel and snaps her fingers, calling out Suijin, who appears already with her blades drawn. 

“Whoa whoa, hey, calm down.” The speaker beckons from an alley, shrouded in darkness. They step forward, revealing a humanoid demon dressed in dark clothes that would make a goth jealous. The leather covering their body is skin tight, and they have a cape to go along with it, and military-style boots of the same darkness. Their head is obscured by a gas mask, and on top is a fedora. In their hand is the end of a long instrument that connects to a gray set of gas tanks they’re wearing like a backpack.

The green-haired woman breathes and fingers her staff on her belt, “...what do you want?”

The demon puts their hands up in surrender and speaks in a gruff voice, “Hey, I’m not here to fight. I’ve seen what you can do, and I don’t want any of that.”

Yuki approaches and gently puts her hand on Shio’s upper arm, “Don’t trust them. You don’t need another duel today.” 

“Do I need to repeat myself? I’m not here to fight.” The demon drops their tool for emphasis, letting it clatter against the ground, “I’m here to offer my services to you.”

“...huh?” Shio dismisses her Persona, “...services? What, BDSM training?”

They snort, “Oh please, like I haven’t heard that one before. No, girly, real demon services. Y’know, the gossip, the what’s new, what’s hot, what all the big bad hellspawn are saying.”

The four humans stare at the demon for a few moments before Mikoto quietly asks, “...you...want to give us demon gossip?”

They clap their hands together and point both fingers at Mikoto, “Exactly! You wouldn’t believe what all the boys and girls around here get up to. And, for a price, I’ll let you in on the who’s who, the what’s what, the-”

“Yeah, yeah, I think we got that,” Yuki interjects, “How could demon gossip be useful to us? What, we’re supposed to get excited that some Jack Frost got horny and went after a Nekomata or something?”

“No no, not that...demons got different preferences, they like different things. You ever bother trying to charm a Belphegor?”

“Er, no-”

“Exactly! They’re dicks! You have to have the dirt on them first, or know how to be an arse and really impress them. Or maybe just offer some toilet paper,” they add at the end, stroking their chin.

“...alright, now you’re speaking my language.” Shio grins, reaching for her wallet, “How much?”

Yuki facepalms, “Are you really going to use our hard earned yen on this?”

Shio shrugs, “We’ve made like 30K alone today. I can budget this in.”

“We have a budget?” Mikoto asks sarcastically.

“Fine! Fine, honestly having better conversations will likely mean less risky fights, so this is probably a good thing. Probably.” 

The demon now looks a bit ashamed and twiddles his thumbs, “Well, uh...I don’t actually have any rumors or anything yet. I will soon! Just, everything I’ve got now is last week’s leftovers, and I don’t wanna send you away with bad stuff. Next time I see you I’ll have some real product for ya.”

The Fool stuffs her wallet back in her pocket, “Jeez, you really need to work better on your salesmanship. You should have that stuff ready to go when trying to pull someone in.”

“Wait wait! I do have one thing, one that should really entice you,” they cry out as the Knights turn to leave, “All the demons are talking about you.”

Shio raises an eyebrow, “Huh?”

The demon nods, “Word of your exploits is spreading. They speak of a woman who fights like a demon, who’s been able to already recruit a host of hellspawn to her side. They say you’re reminiscent of  _ him _ .”

“...who’s ‘him?’”

The demon waves his hand, “Oh no one.”

Shio’s eyebrow goes higher, “You can’t just say I’m like someone else and not tell me. Are there other humans around in this world? What are they doing?”

“Hey hey, I never said that-I’m just repeating the rumors. If I do find out, I’ll let you know...for a price, of course. The name’s Mad Gasser, by the way, a pleasure to meet you all.”

Ryushi and Shio cover their mouths trying to hide their laughter while Yuki looks incredulous, “...Mad Gasser?”

“Yeah. What did you think the tank was for?” The demon appears none the wiser to Shio and Ryushi’s actions.

“...alright. Well, it was...nice meeting you. We’ll see you around I guess.” Yuki gives an awkward, hesitant short bow, and then grabs the two silently giggling Knights and pulls them away.

Mikoto begins to turn away before shooting a glance back at Mad Gasser, “...maybe you should lose the creeper act.”

**Saturday, May 16th, 2020**

Misaki isn’t at the meeting. Shio ends up finding it harder to pay attention to the discussions about various volunteer efforts coming up, instead wondering where the woman is. It gets to be bad enough that she doesn’t even notice the gathering’s ended until a few people walk by her, and the procession of people leaving breaks the trance on her.

As she leaves herself, she sighs and pulls her phone out. Thumbing through her inbox of messages, she doesn’t really find anything that catches her eye. She ends up parking herself at a bench, sighing in frustration with herself.

_ “I can’t let myself get this into someone...I actually barely even  _ know _ her,” _ she thinks,  _ “Am I just being shallow thinking she’s hot? God, I fucking suck…”  _

The green-haired woman elects to head home and work on the paper she has due in a week, and get it done so she’s free in case of any demon emergencies.

The rest of her day ends up being devoted to said assignment; the subject material sadly doesn’t interest her much, so she finds it a bit hard to focus at times. As the afternoon begins to wane, she puts the finishing touches on it, and both cracks her knuckles and stretches her arms in one action, sighing at the popping noises.

She finishes her day laying in bed after dinner and listening to music, occasionally checking if she’s received any messages.

Soon enough, drowsiness overcomes her, and she drifts into unconsciousness.

* * *

In her dream, the world is oppressively hot. The sun looks alarmingly close to the earth, and glares down at Shio as she trudges through Maebashi, next to the Tone River. Or rather, where the river used to be; in this world, the heat has caused it to fully evaporate, with corpses of fish lining the former riverbed. The smell wafts up and reaches the girl, which induces a vomiting fit. 

The oppressive atmosphere gets to Shio, and she falls to her knees and plants her palms on the asphalt, immediately recoiling from it burning her skin. The young woman tries retreating into a nearby alley, but even when she gets out of line of sight from the blazing orb in the sky, she still feels its effects on her.

“Oh fuck...oh  _ fuck _ , I can’t go much farther…” She slides down along the wall, and then tilts her head back with her eyes closed. 

“Oh come on,” a voice chuckles darkly, “You’re really disappointing me, kid.”

The green-haired woman blanches and stumbles to her feet, staring down the alley at the voice’s owner; the tall, ashen figure with piercing scarlet eyes. Her blood runs cold.

“Well well, isn’t this a familiar scene,” they say with joy, slowly approaching Shio. They reach behind their back and reveal a pistol, which they aim directly at Shio’s heart, “I’ve definitely seen this image before.”

Before Shio can move an inch, her attacker flicks their wrist downward and fires two shots, one into her gut, the other her right thigh.

Shio has imagined the pain of being shot for the last decade, despairing over the last feeling her father had before he left this world. It didn’t prepare her for the actual agony she’s now experiencing.

Consider an ant biting your skin. A tiny pinprick. Then, make that ant one of the most deadly, ferocious varieties in the world, and give it the power to literally chew through your flesh, straight through your insides, leaving a trail of fiery pain in its wake. Finally, magnify that times 100. That’s what Shio’s feeling.

She’s sure that the entire city can hear her screams, and fights against the panicking part of her brain to act rationally. Her hands shake as she fights to keep conscious, and presses one to each entry wound, applying as much pressure as she can muster. It doesn’t really seem to help much, as blood pools around her. 

She blinks away tears to see the figure now hovering above her

They crouch down, pressing the barrel into her forehead, “You didn’t even put up a fight this time. C’mon, I’m  _ giving _ you the means to resist me. I’ll win regardless, but you have to make this  _ fun _ , Shio.”

The Fool grunts and releases her bleeding side, grabbing the upper arm of the ashen figure, her grip sticky. “Who...the fuck...are you…?” She coughs between each word, blood spitting out.

“Tsk tsk, it’s much too early for that, isn’t it?” They laugh, easily prying Shio’s hand away and letting it drop to the ground, splashing in the puddle of her own ichor. “We’ve got a long way to go in this little game of ours…I’ve waited  _ far _ too long to let my fun end this quickly.” They lower their voice, somehow putting even more malice behind their words, “You’ll what _ havoc _ I can wreak soon enough, kiddo.”

Before Shio can get out another word, a third shot echoes through the area, and her vision goes white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep thinking that I'll be quick in writing the next chapter, and then life happens...ugh.   
> This thing feels rushed, and I cut out a couple scenes to do later; I figure I'll have enough days for Social Links anyway, and can squeeze multiple ones into the same day if necessary.
> 
> I was literally writing the Matador fight when Nocturne HD was announced?? Holy shit??  
> Also...SMTV...my dreams...my prayers, answered...I feel alive again...
> 
> Honestly these dream sequences might be my fave thing to write. Dropping the little hints~
> 
> Shio and Mikoto have talked about their gender off camera. I miiiight go back and add in a scene to do this, it's undecided. 
> 
> Suijin will murder all transphobes.   
> Ryushi having a crush on Shio doesn't go anywhere, just wanna make that clear now; I just feel like it makes sense for him as a character. But Shio's gay, so...sorry bro. 
> 
> I'm finally making progress in Persona Q2. Game's neat, even if it's really hard even on damn Safety. I also bought Scramble...but I haven't been playing because I got back into Apex...
> 
> Fun fact: the transitioning to the mirror world was inspired, of all things, by Silent Hill: Origins, a game I've never played. I just get obsessed with Silent Hill as a franchise every once in awhile. good music


	14. The Wave

**Sunday, May 17th, 2020**

The dream leaves Shio in dire straits. Upon regaining consciousness, she’s met with an extremely dry throat and the feeling of sleeping in water. Her body is covered in a sheen of sweat, and her sheets are similarly soaked, as if she got into bed after taking a dip. On top of it all, there’s a searing pain in her stomach and her thigh, not nearly that which she felt in her nightmare, but not nothing to scoff at. The young woman tries to get up and finds it’s a fruitless effort, her limbs refusing to move at all. In an attempt to call from help, she only releases a gargled, scratchy noise, which she winces from. 

Thankfully, Akari is walking past her bedroom when she makes the pitiful noise, and knocks on her door, “Shio? You OK?”

“N-no,” her raspy voice gets out, coughing. “W-water…”

Her aunt quickly vacates the room and then returns with a brimming glass of water, which Shio spills down her front in her eagerness to get some down her throat. As the liquid washes through her, she feels slightly rejuvenated, though not as much as she normally does from being in contact with the substance since awakening to Suijin. 

“I’m really baffled on how you got dehydrated overnight,” Akari says worriedly as she feels Shio’s forehead, “It was fairly cool, and nothing happened to me, so it probably wasn’t the heater. Is there anything you can think of that did this?”

The niece shakes her head, sitting up and wincing from how weak she feels. With her aunt supporting her, she manages to get into the bathroom and start a shower, though she sits down in it and lets the water wash over her. Still, her restorative powers don’t kick in.

“Hey, um, Suijin, is this...something I should be worried about?” She asks, “This seems...bad…”

_ “This isn’t a normal ailment; it is of your own mind. Something is disturbing you from within, warping you, tapping in to your fears, and in turn that fear is displaying itself this way. This is a wound that must be recovered from, it cannot be healed.” _

Shio hangs her head in despair, wet clumps of her hair covering her face like pieces of seaweed. 

“OK...like dad said...breathe...breathe…” 

* * *

_ Daichi Kiyomizu is hunched over the kitchen table, brow furrowed as he reads a report, when his six year-old daughter comes into the house crying her eyes out. He immediately sets down the papers and rushes to her, familiar lines of concern etched into his face. _

_ “Honey, what’s wrong?” He crouches on one knee so he’s nearly eye-level with her, and gently takes Shio into his arms and rubs her back soothingly. _

_ The young girl lets out a hiccup, still crying but more sniffling now than letting out tears, “I-I f-fell off the swing while playing a-and really hurt my knee,” Daichi now notes the offending wound, just hidden by the hem of her dress; it’s not going to leave any lasting mark, but it’ll smart for an hour or so. _

_ “Shh, it’s OK. It happens. You’ll be alright. Take a couple deep breaths for me.” _

_ Shio hiccups and nods, remembering what she’s done in the past. She takes one long breath in, and then lets it out. She repeats the process a couple times. _

_ He keeps the hug going for a minute before pulling away and leaving both his hands on her shoulders, “I’ll be right back with something for it, OK?” _

_ He gets another hiccup and a small nod as a response, and smiles again at her. He ducks out for a second and returns with a first-aid kit, then helps Shio over to a chair.  _

_ As he disinfects and cleans up the bloody scrape, Shio winces more than once, but eventually simply watches her father work. “Maki and Yoko...also made fun of me when it happened...they said I should swing higher…” Her eyes begin to water again. _

_ Daichi pauses in his application of the bandages and looks up at her, frowning. “So you went higher, got hurt, and then they laughed at you?” _

_ She nods. “Doesn’t that sound silly?” He inquires, finishing the bandaging. “Do you think they were right to do so?” _

_ Shio fidgets, still uncomfortable with the whole experience. “I-I donno…’ _

_ “Well, your dad thinks so.” He tilts her chin up to have them eye-to-eye again, “Don’t let people get to you, especially if you did something they said to do in the first place. If something like that ever happens again, take a step back and try not to panic. Just breathe, nice and slow, like before.” _

_ “O-OK Dad…” she breathes deeply again. _

_ Her father smiles and kisses the top of her head, “One of these days, you’ll remember to do it without me being here to remind you, kiddo.”  _

* * *

Shio slowly exhales, her hand going to her neck for her locket, only to recall she took it off moments ago before stepping into the shower. Still, her hand awkward stays at her collarbone, choosing instead to fiddle with a wet lock of hair.

About twenty minutes later, she emerges from the bathroom, hair still wet and dressed in a large t-shirt she normally reserves for sleep. She can move her limbs on her own again, however it takes a fair amount of effort.

A glass of juice is sitting on the counter waiting for her, as is a plate of food waiting to be consumed. 

“Feeling better?” Akari inquires, finishing her own meal.

“A fair amount, but still kinda weak,” Shio admits, gingerly sitting down and draining half her juice in one gulp.

“Jeez, calm down kid. Don’t make me have to take you to work,” Akari jokes, going to wash her plate. “You’re supposed to work today, right? Are you gonna head in or opt out?”

Shio smacks her forehead, “Oh, right, thank you!” She takes another couple bites and pulls her phone out, dialing her sensei.

“Hello, Komeki-san? This is Shio. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to come in today, I woke up this morning feeling really weak and out of sorts.”

Komeki’s gruff voice responds, “Very well, Shio-chan. I’m sorry to hear about your ailment, I hope that it passes soon. This might work in our favor, though, as I have procured someone willing to spar with you for training, but they are busy today. We’ll be able start next week.”

“That sounds wonderful. See you then, Komeki-san.”

**Monday, May 18th, 2020**

Mikoto examines a small white scar on their arm, which they got in a scrape during last week’s excursion into the AR. Their finger traces over the thin line slowly. 

“Hey, where’d you get that? Haven’t noticed it before.” Mikoto looks over at their friend, who’s down the bench from them, hands frozen in the middle of tying their shoes.

“Oh, it’s been there,” they lie, standing and stretching, popping their joints as they do so. “Old one.”

“Dude, do you know how much I’ve fought you? I’m pretty used to looking at those arms as they come swinging for me,” he jokes, flashing a smile.

Mikoto raises an eyebrow, “...uh…”

Their friend sighs mockingly, “It’s a joke, calm down.” He finishes tying his shoes and ruffles his short blonde hair; they’re dressed in a green workout shirt with black gym shorts, and his crimson eyes twinkle mischievously. His right arm is the most striking thing about his person; the prosthetic reaches up to his mid-upper arm and is made of a white metal, though the material is light. 

“Hiroki, why do you patronize me so?” Mikoto smiles, standing up and getting their things together.

“I dunno, why do you always let me get away with things?” He follows suit, hoisting his gym bag over his shoulder. His grin fades and he places a hand on Mikoto’s shoulder, “Really...is everything alright though? I did sense...something earlier. You just seem down, more than usual.”

“No, I’m good...just uh, a little nervous about the championships in a few months. I guess it’s been weighing heavily on me.”

“Dude, you’re going to do fine. Trust me. I’ve been sparring with you for like two years now, you’re ready for this.” They let their hand fall, “By the way, how did that training with that other girl go? I forgot to ask.”

“Oh, it went well. She’s nice, she and I have hung out a couple times now, she’s pretty cool.” 

“That’s cool. Speaking of, my old teach asked me to help train some girl who’s his new apprentice or something, since he can’t do it himself. Not really sure what’s up with her, but he’s really excited about us meeting.” They shrug, “Gonna be nice to fight someone that isn’t you and your damn muscles, haha.”

**Wednesday, May 20th, 2020**

Shio emerges from the building and finds that she’s immediately missing the cool air of the classroom. Everyone else seems to be too, with how many people are fanning themselves or taking up any space of shade they can. One guy is even pouring water on his head.

_ “Well, it is getting to be that time of...year…” _ her train of thought trails off; it  _ isn’t _ that time of year yet. This kind of heat isn’t supposed to start for a couple months, and the weather report she glanced at in the morning said it was actually supposed to be fairly windy and possibly even chilly this morning, and have the lowest temperatures this week.

“Oh fuck,” she whispers, the events of her dream on Saturday night flying back to the forefront of her mind. “Oh  _ fuck...that was real. _ ”

Her mind panicking, she finds herself retreating back into the safety of shelter and pulling her phone out, dialing Ryushi and putting it up to her ear. As the dial tone rings, she watches through the glass doors as many students either follow her idea and head back inside. One girl collapses into her friend’s arm, who drags her into a free space under a tree and puts her hand to her forehead.

“Hey, uh, what’s up? I’m in the middle of class right-” Ryushi says as his greeting, sounding more confused than irritated.

“Check the radar thing. Now.” Shio responds tersely, before taking a deep breath and walking back outside, striding across campus and trying to ignore the punishing sun glaring down at her.

“What? OK. Give me a sec, I left the room to take this,” his line goes on hold. Shio grimaces at the sweltering heat, and after only a couple minutes of walking finds that she’s sweating up a storm. Her phone’s becoming so hot that she hisses and nearly drops it, and after this ducks into the closest lab to get some relief. As she does, Ryushi comes back on, “Oh yeah, there’s one...what’s going on?”

“I would be careful heading outside if I were you,” Shio murmurs in response, wiping sweat off her body, “You’ll be able to tell immediately. You call Yuki, I’ll contact Mikoto. We have to do this ASAP.” Her mind thinks back to the last couple of years where heat waves have been more common, and that they brought the spectre of death with them; she’s not willing to let that happen with this one.

“Alright. Stay safe, I’ll see you soon,” Ryushi hangs up. 

Shio ties her hair back into a ponytail and calls Mikoto, quickly informing them of the situation. They luckily turn out to be right near the studio, so they confirm to meet there and then hang up.

Glancing back outside at the now barren stone paths normally full of students, Shio loathes the idea of heading back out, and steels herself for it. As she’s about to, a sign catches her eye; the women’s bathroom.

She pauses, and then smiles to herself,  _ “You thinking what I’m thinking, Suijin?” _

* * *

If you told Shio a couple months ago she would soon be leaping from rooftop to rooftop in an alternate reality with the help of a god summoned from her mind, she wouldn’t have not believed you so much as regarded you as likely needing to start seeing a professional.

And yet, here she was, bouncing from one place to the next, more synced with Suijin than ever.

Some demons attempt to hinder her progress, though she pays them no mind, instead running from fights and getting out of their territories, which gets them to give up the chase.

She makes it to the dance studio in record time, thankfully having memorized the route in advance. She nimbly lands down on the pavement, proud of how she didn’t manage to twist her ankles on any of her jumps. 

She heads back through to her side to find her friends already gathered. Yuki shoots her a look of surprise, “Wait, you were already here?”

“Nope, just got here,” Shio heads over to where she stowed her bag with all their medicine and items from last time, trading it out for her school bag.

“...hang on. Did you cut through the AR to get here?” Ryushi asks incredulously.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Mikoto says, giving a thumbs up.

“Where’s it at, Ryushi?” Shio ignores the praise, “This is worse than I anticipated. We have to do this  _ now _ . People _ die  _ from heat waves.”

Ryushi types on his laptop, “It’s in Gunma Flower Park, about...an hour from here on foot.”

“Shit, that’s way too long,” the Knights’ leader clenches her fist, looking at her phone; the heat’s already been blazing for twenty minutes, and she figures that if she saw one person collapse at school, tens or hundreds more already have elsewhere in the city, depending on how far it stretches. “Let’s move, people.”

The black-haired boy raises his hand, “Hang on, there’s something else. There’re...two signals this time. Er, two additional ones to what’s very likely the AD again. And no, this new one...it’s not the same as either of the other two. It’s got similar patterns to both of the others’ waveforms, but it is not the same thing.”

There’s a moment of silence, and Ryushi looks up to see the other three looking at him. “What?”

Yuki shrugs, “I just don’t know what to think. It could either be two Persona users, two ADs, or...something else. I just don’t know what to think. There’s always something new…”

“We’ll deal with it, whatever it is. We have to.” Shio turns away, her eyes already glinted with the fire of summoning a Persona. She and the others quickly step through to the other side.

* * *

Hiroki looks into the gym mirror, frustrated with a small cut they got in their cheek after sparring with a partner earlier. “Man, it’s just big enough that it needs a bandage...I probably should put one on.” They sigh and set their bag on the counter, ruffling through it for the needed adhesive.

He doesn’t get the chance to. As he pulls the item out triumphantly, the mirror shimmers and ripples in the corner of his eye, and as he turns to look at it an ashen hand emerges and pulls him through by the throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God life really just keeps catching up with me, huh? I did have my birthday, and play way too much Apex, and work drama. Fair amount of work drama.
> 
> Hiroki uses he/they!
> 
> It really seems like every chapter I end up cutting more than I would like to. I don't really struggle with the main story, but anything else...oof, it drains me. Might try a more focused approach and do even less social link stuff, keeping that for later. We'll see. 
> 
> I'm sorry again that I've been posting basically half as much as I kinda said I would. I kinda doubt that it'll get on track since season 6 of Apex is soon, and that'll take up...all my time...
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)   
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito   
> Justice-Misaki Hasegawa  
> Hermit-Akari Kiyomizu  
> Fortune-Kotori Watanabe (Swim Team)  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima   
> Temperance-Mikoto Goda  
> Star-Agatha


	15. Familiar Victim

**Wednesday, May 20th, 2020**

_ “The out-of-nowhere heat wave hitting the southern area of the Gunma prefecture has completely stumped meteorologists, who claim that conditions aren’t right for this level of heat. There are already reports of at least a dozen people collapsing and beginning to suffer from dehydration, and citizens are being advised to stay inside and do their best to keep cool any way they can.” _

Akari finishes her glass of water and looks at her phone; the temperature in her weather app notes that it’s now over 100 degrees. She sighs and tries calling her niece again, holding the device up to her ear. As the dial tone rings and she realizes it’s her third failed attempt, worry lines grow on her forehead. “Where are you, Shio?”

* * *

The trek to Gunma Flower Park doesn’t take the hour that Shio feared it would, yet still longer than she would’ve liked in the first place. By the time they’re at the entrance, the heat wave’s been going on for about an hour-and-a-half, and she isn’t happy about it. 

“Hey, Mikoto, have you...sensed anything? Like the other presence? Or where the AD is?”

Mikoto shrugs, “Well, the AD is definitely nearby, as is the signal that’s likely another persona-user but I haven’t felt anything related to the other one Ryushi noticed. There’ve been definitely a few more demons than the last couple of times I’ve been here, though.”

“That might just be because we’re in a place we haven’t been before on this side, they’re more entrenched and stuff,” Yuki says, walking up to the park’s gate. “We need to save whoever’s here and stop the AD now.”

“Exactly,” Shio says with finality, already clicking her staff out into its true form, “Let’s get this done.”

With Mikoto leading, the Knights jog through the park’s meandering walkways, grimacing at all the dead plant life.

“Hang on, how long do we think this realm has been dead? Like, twenty years, right? But these flowers look like they died in the last few weeks-”

“We don’t have time to discuss this, we-” Shio stops mid-sentence while also skidding to a halt, her eyes widening.

About one-hundred meters in front of them is a familiar sphere of ash and power, slowly enlarging, and nearly about to engulf a figure passed out beneath it. 

“Oh fuck,” Shio immeidately manifests Suijin and begins to close the distance, just barely managing to grab the figure before the orb starts to touch them. She jumps back a few meters as the others arrive, and she grunts with effort as she gently sets the person down on the ground.

Mikoto elbows past Yuki and kneels down, their face white. “What the hell, Hiroki?”

“You know him?!” Shio asks incredulously, looking from her friend to the blonde she just rescued. 

“Y-yeah, we’re friends...he and I spar a fair amount…I didn’t expect them to be here…” they’re shaking a bit, surprised at seeing someone they know.

Shio places her hand on their shoulder, “We’ll figure out what’s up with them being here later. Right now...I think we have bigger problems.”

The four’s attention is diverted to the pulsing energy of the sphere. Limbs begin to emerge from the orb; large, dainty hands wearing short white gloves that only cover the four fingers and the top bit of the palms. The skin is a dark, olive color, though the demon’s also emanating the same ash as those who came before.

Eventually the head of a young woman with dark hair emerges, her eyes an angry red and her ears pointed. Finally, a pair of bat-like wings fold out, connected to her back, and her nearly-bare torso comes into view, her only clothing being a short pair of white shorts and a cut blouse that barely covers her breasts. Shio has to shake her head to get thoughts out of it, and steels herself.

The Lilim smiles devilishly and grows till she’s about thirteen feet tall, her long, thin tail flicking about dangerously. 

“Well  _ hello _ there, little humans,” the Lilim’s voice is unnerving in how soothing it is. “I see that I’ve been given a good number of you to feed my  _ hunger. _ ..now, who would like to be first, hm?”

“We’re not for you to feed on, demon,” Yuki says confidently, grip tightening on her bat, “We’re here to stop you.”

“Mikoto, get Hiroki back a safe distance and act as the rear guard. We’ll deal with her directly,” Shio whispers back to their guide. Mikoto nods and scoops up their friend, sitting them on a nearby bench and taking a stance in front of them.

“Oh, are you now? Well, it is a shame that I have to mess up those beautiful faces of yours, but... _ I do love playing with my food. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, I have some apologizing to do. 
> 
> I've had most of this written for weeks, but wanted to finish the chapter before posting since I've tried to have the entirety of fights happen at once. After encountering some writer's block and a lack of motivation (mainly stemming from life, not really disinterest in the story) I've decided to go ahead and put this up to say "hey this isn't done."
> 
> Thanks for sticking around if you're still reading! I promise the next chapter'll make up for how short this one is.
> 
> Next time we'll get the full Lilim fight and its aftermath, where...things happen. Big things.


	16. A Clap of Thunder, a Surge of Havoc

The Lilim throws her head back and lets out a guttural scream that makes the hairs on the back of Shio’s neck stand up. The air grows noticeably chillier, and overhead dark clouds begin to form and start raining down chunks of hail.

“Yaksini!” Shio evokes the purple-skinned demon and has them stand above her, blades raised to block the ice from hitting her. As a howling wind picks up, she yells as loud as she can, “Guys, we can’t let ourselves stay still for too long, the cold’ll get to us and stop us in our tracks, we have to keep moving. Yuki, you have Haniyasu-Hime blast shots from a distance. Ryushi, ice is your thing so you’re going to be our ace for this. Get Kuraokami in there and be our main strength. That should help the rest of us not get focused on and frozen in.”

The others oblige with Shio’s tactics, and they work for a little bit. The Lilim’s fast, but clearly normally relies on her ice slowing down the competition; Kuraokami is able to mostly land its blows, though they aren’t as deadly as they could be. Yuki’s Persona’s attacks end up hitting Kuraokami more than once, thanks to the ever-increasing sleet obscuring her vision. Meanwhile, Shio pulls out Pyro Jack and has to weave through all the ice, gritting her teeth when something does collide with her; she knows that pulling out a fire-type Persona is a risk thanks to it giving herself a heightened weakness to the Lilim’s icicles, but it might be a good advantage if it can slow the Lilim down. 

Shio gets in close enough to cast an Agilao attack, which hits her squarely in the back. All at once, the ice stops falling, and the Lilim turns to look at Shio with a bemused look on her face.

“Oh  _ please _ , darling, did you think that fire would be your savior in this fight?”

_ “Ah fuck.” _

The Lilim swiftly throws her hand out, catching Shio in the stomach with a concentrated blast of ice. She doesn’t get time to switch off Pyro Jack, so the attack is amplified by her current affinity, and Shio goes skidding across the now-icy ground, getting covered in ash, dirt, and snow, before slamming into the husk that was once a tree. Pyro Jack lets out a cry of pain and dematerializes. 

“Shio!” Yuki cries out, only to be hit with another spell, which isn’t as effective but still catches her off-guard and leads to her slipping on a patch of ice and then crashing onto her butt with a groan.

As these attacks hit their marks, Hiroki begins to stir. “Oh...god, what the hell was...ow, shit, my arm-”

Mikoto looks away from the fight to see their friend’s eyes open, “Oh, er, shit...um, hey Hiroki? You uh...I’m gonna need you to not ask questions.”

Hiroki, still dazed, frowns, “Ughhh...Mikoto? Did you knock me out during training again or something?”

Mikoto muses for a moment, “Yeah let’s go with that. Just, stay behind me.” They get Kuebiko out in front, and focus on using its power to try and shield themselves and Hiroki from the growing storm. 

Meanwhile, Ryushi runs to Shio’s side and tries to help her up, “C’mon girl, get up get up, we can’t do this without you.”

“Is this not cold enough for you?” The demon cackles with glee at the destruction she’s caused so far, “I could turn it up, just for  _ you _ !” She winks at Mikoto, and lifts both hands into the air to start forming a large sphere of ice.

Before anyone can act, the attack hurtles at an alarming speed toward Kuebiko, and collides with the Persona. Its defensive capabilities mitigate some of the blow, but it’s enough to send Mikoto careening back into a Hiroki who’d just started to try and stand. The impact knocks some sense into the blonde, and as they lie pinned under their friend they notice the giant, sexy demon. “...Alright, you definitely socked me really good this time.”

“I think it’s time for a cold front to move in. I can freeze you all, keep your energy all good and intact for me.” She giggles and wraps her arms around herself, her face lighting up in ecstasy as it lights up with a powerful white aura. The wind begins to pick up.

“Hey if someone’s going to figure something out they better do it ASAP!” Ryushi calls over the howling of the gales, still shaking Shio in an effort to get her up and fighting. 

Mikoto struggles to their feet and helps Hiroki up, “Listen, it’s for the best if you just get out of here. Go run, find a place to hunker down. We’ll collect you in a bit, OK?”

“The hell are you talking about? I’m not running, I’m not useless.” He frowns, “You can’t tell me to just leave.”

“You’re not useless, it’s...it’s just, things are...you can see for yourself,” Mikoto gestures to the demon that looks like she’s turned on, “No one else can help us with this. This has nothing to do with you.”

“I’m here, so clearly it does, right?” Hiroki argues, “I have no idea what kinda shit this is, but you can’t tell me to just not get involved. You know I’m not like that.” He glares at his friend, and then turns to the demon. “Besides, I can take her.”

“Uh...no, you can’t. Hiroki-”

“Mikoto,” they glance behind them, eyes with flecks of yellow in them, “Do not stop me.” A clap of thunder sounds overhead. 

**_“Do you truly lack the ability to stand on your own?”_ **

Hiroki’s eyes briefly widen before he puts one hand to his temple, face scrunched up in pain. There’s more thunder, and lightning begins to come down from the sky and strike nearby. The clouds begin to put out less snow. The Lilim frowns at her power lowering and pouts, the icy aura also fading, “Hey, what’re you doing?”

**_“Everyone expects that you require all the help in the world, that your difference makes you inept.”_ **

“Fuck off,” Hiroki’s hands ruffle through his yellow-ish hair, as if he’s trying to itch his own scalp. “Shut up, I’m fucking fine. I hate people thinking I’m wrong somehow.” He collapses to his knees and slams both fists into the ground, his prosthetic making a clang against a part of a stone pathway.

**_“Of course you’re fine. It is others’ judging that’s unacceptable. Stand and prove them wrong.”_ **

Lightning strikes around Hiroki as he manages to get up, “Come on then, let’s start.”

Hiroki’s Persona starts emerging above them, and he slowly stands up, fists clenched and face still contorted with intense discomfort.

Across the way, Shio finally comes to her senses, and takes immediate notice of the newly-forming beast in front of her. “Well, guess I was right…”

**_“Then our oath is set. We will stand hand-in-hand against those who deem difference as disgraceful._ **

The Persona is a large wolf-like creature, with about half of its body being made of shiny metal. Its hind legs are both entirely mechanical, and its eyes glow with a red tint. The fur still on its body is a silvery-blue, reminiscent of a moon reflected in water. The fur crackles with electricity that dances along its entire form, and as the wolf lets out a howl even more bolts strike the earth.

“Oh fuck yeah, cyber-wolf,” Ryushi whispers to himself.

**_“Thou art I, and I am thou. From above the sea of your soul, I strike...I am the Lightning Caller, Raiju!”_ **

Hiroki’s newly yellow eyes flash with a mix of anger and righteousness. Electricity bounces down his prosthetic, “Let’s dance, angel.”

“Excuse me, I’m not that BDSM-loving whore,” the Lilim scoffs, her eyes full of malice. 

Shio, now with Jack Frost flying beside her, slides on a patch of ice to arrive at Hiroki’s side. She flashes him a smile and a thumbs up, “Hey, you wanna kick some ass?”

The blonde rotates their neck to get a crick out of it, “That’s all I wanna do right now.”

Raiju leaps through the air toward the Lilim and buries its fangs into her arm, drawing blood that streams down its snout. 

With a hmph, the Lilim raises her arm to stare into the cybernetic eyes of the Persona; “Well, that’s a cute move. Was that supposed to hurt?”

Raiju growls, and then unleashes an electric attack straight through its fangs, which leaves the demon screaming in anguish. She throws the wolf off and bellows at the heavens, causing the storm to ramp back up, except this time the snow is heavier and quickly starts to pile up. Ryushi manages to fare alright in it, but the others have trouble as their visibility grows worse.

Mikoto trudges forward and gets Kuebiko up between the other Knights and the Lilim as a shield, calling out over the wind, “Shio! Any b-bright ideas?”

“Fuck, f-fuck,” the leader whispers, racking her brain for some way out of the situation. “We d-definitely need to let Hiroki get in more attacks like that, b-but with this storm that’s going to be d-difficult.” The snow’s now thick enough that Shio can barely make out the outline of the large succubus, who seems to be distracted by Ryushi running around somewhere.

“I-I d-don’t know what use I am r-right now,” Yuki laments, desperately trying to keep warm. 

_ “Hey boss, gimme another chance!” _ Pyro Jack whines, jumping down excitedly in her brain.

Shio’s about to let the little pumpkin have his moment before she hears a growling,  _ “If I may, I believe it’s time for a  _ real _ fire-type to display their prowess, my liege.”  _ At these words, she smirks. “Oh, I did forget about you.”

“Forget about who?” Yuki inquires, looking at her friend confused and also slightly afraid of her new grin.

“ORTHRUS!” The two-headed lion manifests above and lets out a roar that puts the howling winds to shame, and surrounds the group in a ring of fire that quickly melts the snow in their immediate vicinity. 

“Alright, new plan! Yuki, I want you to get some barriers raised for cover around here. Mikoto, see if you can cast a Masukukaja, we’ll need the speed in this cold. Hiroki!” She pauses, “...just attack.”

The three nod and leap into action; Shio’s pleasantly surprised to see that Hiroki falls in line quite well, synergising with the others. Yuki has Haniyasu-Hime lift great chunks of earth and rock up and scatter them around for cover, with Hiroki following closeby to stay on the move, calling out Raiju at each chance to either get another physical attack in or call down a lightning strike directly on top of the demon. Mikoto retreats a bit behind some natural cover, out of attacking range, and eventually gets enough energy to get the speed spell out, which helps the others dodge some attacks from the enraged enemy.

During all this, Shio keeps out of Orthrus and has it throw balls of fire out around the field, making temporary small havens of warmth that give Yuki spots to create her shields. It’s exhausting work, but the plan has a noticeable impact; with the team being fairly spread out and mobile, she has a hard time focusing on a single target enough to get them down. Anytime she does connect, Shio switches to High Pixie and throws a Diarama at whoever needs it.

“Insolent brats,” the Lilim cries out as another bolt sends electricity shooting through her. “I am DONE playing games!” 

Previously, the Lilim had mostly stayed stationary and merely hovered in place whilst firing her ice shots out. With the last bits of her strength, she switches tactics, She swoops through the air, and catches Ryushi with a swift claw strike, sending him into one of Yuki’s barriers, knocking him out cold before he can get let out a yell.

“Fuck,” Shio dismisses Orthrus and snaps her fingers, getting Suijin out, who gets to the fallen fighter and scoops his body up, carrying him to a safe place.

The demon soars higher in the air, becoming even more obscured, enough that Hiroki isn’t able to aim for Raiju’s bolts to hit. Every few seconds, the demon dips down into real view and hits one of them with a ball of ice, cackling gleefully at her new strategy’s effectiveness.

Getting slammed in the back by an attack, Yuki stumbles into Shio’s arms, who helps her quickly collect herself. “Any more tricks up your sleeve? Even with our speed boost, we can’t hit her. She’s got the height advantage too.”

“I’m thinking I’m thinking,” she replies, before shoving her away so that they both dodge the demon’s next blast. As she falls back, Shio’s hand brushes against her pocket, where she feels a vial inside she’d forgotten about: Agatha’s voice echoes through her head.

* * *

_ “It’s actually kinda simple. So, you can choose to convert a Persona into some seeds, and then grow them with water from the sea of your soul, eventually bearing fruit that can be made into an elixir. They’ll have different effects based on which Personas you use, from healing to stat boosts, curing ailments, and more!” _

* * *

“That’s it,” Shio realizes, and pulls out the elixir she harvested from the sea of her soul a couple days ago. “This might do the trick.” She looks up to see Hiroki running by, “HEY, Hiroki, drink this!” She tosses it to them, who catches the small vial with blue liquid.

“...alright then. I still don’t really understand anything that’s happening, so this can’t be any worse.” He pops the cork off and downs it in one swallow.

Almost immediately, it takes effect, encasing him in a blue aura, the same that Shio’s eyes take on summoning her initial Persona. His body trembles with power, and the yellow glow of his eyes gets contrasted with a blue ‘x’ right in the middle.

Swiftly, Hiroki turns on their heel and looks up at the sky, where the demon is once again emerging, ready to take a swipe at the blonde.

Hiroki crouches and leaps, augmented by the elixir, nimbly slips through her fingers and ends up above her. Shio watches the Lilim’s eyes widen in disbelief at his act, and then Raiju materializes right on the Lilim’s back. It howls, chomps down on the Lilim’s neck, and lets out a lightshow. Her limbs go limp and shake wildly with the attack, nearly hitting some of the Knights, before crashing to the ground.

“OK, now!” Shio, Mikoto, and Yuki all jump in with their Personas, unleashing strong attacks on the vulnerable AD, until she lets out one final scream of agony. The Knights back away, watching the demon let out its energy, and sigh in relief.

As the Lilim’s form fades away, the ice and snow surrounding the remnants of the park rapidly melts, leaving everyone’s shoes wet and the ground slushy. Ryushi wanders over from where he’d been put safely, just as soaked and looking a bit sheepish for his earlier failure.

“So,” Hiroki starts, “Someone wanna tell me what the fuck I just did?”

* * *

“...and I think that covers it,” Shio says definitively as she finishes packing her things away. “Did I leave anything out?”

“Well, it was funny how terrified Ryu was when we first encountered demons,” Yuki teases, throwing a grin at her friend.

“Oh har har,” he replies, squeezing the last of the water out of his shirt, the liquid dripping into a bucket: Shio, with good foresight, had asked the Knights to bring a change of clothes a few days ago to store at the studio, in case they returned in less-than-ideal conditions. Hiroki was able to borrow some spares as well.

Upon their return, the group had immediately checked outside and found the AD’s attack had subsided, without a trace. Online there were reports of some hospitalizations, but no deaths at least; Shio felt guilty they hadn’t avoided anyone getting hurt, but at least the worst outcome hadn’t come to pass.

Hiroki whistles, “Man, that’s some burden you all have. Er, I guess, our burden?” He frowns, “I mean...I’d like to help, if I can.”

The Temperance places a hand on their shoulder, “I don’t think anyone here would force you...we’ve all decided to take it on on our own. But, we’d gladly take your help, we’ll need all we can get.”

“I can’t see any reason to say no,” he stretches an arm, joints popping, “Besides, it’ll be a good workout, if today’s any indication.”

Shio smiles and walks over to them, extending her hand, “Then welcome aboard, Hiroki. We’d be honored to have you.”

As they shake hands, Shio’s phone rings from her pocket. Pulling the device out, she sees it is from her aunt...and that she missed four other calls from her, as well as two from her mom (likely, she assumes ones that were placed while she was crossed over). “...oh shit. I, uh, gotta take this.” She answers and holds it up to her ear, “Hello?”

Over the line, she feels like she can feel a weight lift off of Akari’s shoulders, “Oh thank god, Shio? Where have you been? Are you alright? That heat wave came out of nowhere and I was so worried-”

“Yes, yes Akari-san, I’m fine. I hunkered down inside somewhere with friends, and er, had trouble getting a signal,” she lies, feeling ashamed for not thinking about what her aunt might’ve been going through.

There’s a pause, and Shio hears her let out another breath, “OK...please, come home soon if you can, in case of anything else happening. And call your mother, they’ve been reporting about the heat all over the country, and I let her know I couldn’t get in touch with you. She’s probably tearing her hair out by now.”

Shio mentally curses, “I’m so sorry to have put you both through this, I’ll call her right now and be home soon. I love you, see you soon,” she hangs up, and looks at her team, “I gotta get home, I’ll text you guys later about stuff, OK?”

The group nods at her affirmatively, and she smiles in response, giving a small wave before turning to the door and taking a deep breath before dialing. The call is picked up almost immediately, “...hey Mom.”

**Thursday, May 21st, 2020**

_ “Last night, in the wake of the unexplained heat wave that hospitalized thirty people, four of which currently remain in critical condition, this video was uploaded online. It was posted on YouTube as being delisted, which means that it doesn’t appear if you search for it; a user must have the actual link to the video to see it. Despite this, within a couple hours of it being posted it garnered about two-hundred thousand views, and talk about it has started trending on Twitter in Japan. Please be advised that some of the messaging is disturbing. With that aside, here’s the clip.” _

The actual visual component of the video is the static image of the side of a building that Shio finds to be somewhat familiar. Emblazoned on the side of it is a large piece of graffiti that simply reads “HAVOC” in bright green letters, with the ‘o’ being the symbol for toxicity. While she can’t recall where the graffiti is plastered, the voice that speaks over the image is disturbing in its familiarity; its genderless, malicious, and full of...something otherworldly. Her blood runs cold; it's the voice of the one who's killed her twice already.

_ “Hello, residents of Maebashi, people of the world, I’m here today to promise you one thing. _

_ Your downfall.  _

_ Humanity has proven itself ill fit to take care of each other and the land it lives on, and thus We have decided to deliver you your own justice. You deserve to be taken out by your own planet that you’ve so failed to keep in your care. Before the end of the year We, the Havoc, will deliver you your end. We’ll continue with our small displays of power, showing you what we’re capable of, before the end. I look forward to hearing your screams from the chaos We will bring to Maebashi, and then Japan, and...well, you’ve got the idea. There is no making amends now-this is retribution for the sins you have wrought. _

_ Oh, and you...you  _ **_Knights_ ** _ in shining armor? You think you can stop us? You think your victories so far have had meaning? You’re sorely mistaken. Our chaos will prevail in the end. Humanity will fall. Do not  _ **_cross_ ** _ us. _

_ Havoc out.” _

_ “Many online have dismissed the video as a poorly-made prank, and the mayor has asked that Maebashi citizens not panic while remaining vigilant, just in case. The reference to ‘knights’ is also being investigated as a potential lead. Authorities are asking that any relevant information to these events or persons be forwarded to them immediately.” _

Shio’s grip on the back of the chair tightens as the video finishes, while her complexion has paled. Before Akari can notice, she shakes her head, trying to dispel the dread that’s forming inside her. “Wow, uh...that’s, a lot, huh?”

“I bet it’s just some kids trying to get popular. It happens all the time,” Akari mutters, turning down the television’s volume. “People’ll forget about this in a week.”

“Yeah, probably…” Shio retreats to her room before her aunt can speak more of the matter, and immediately pulls up the Knight’s chat, with a newly-added Hiroki.

**Shio:** You guys see this shit?

**Mikoto:** What?

**Ryushi:** I mean I saw myself in the mirror this morning, so yeah I’ve seen some shit today.

**Shio:** wow. Uh. you ok dude?

**Ryushi:** listen if there’s an opportunity for me to engage in self-deprecation

**Ryushi:** I’ll do it

**Hiroki:** what have I gotten myself into

**Yuki:** This is how he is. Just ignore him

**Shio:** ANYWAY

**Shio:** check this out. 

Shio holds her breath as she sees the receipts that indicate her friends have seen the link to the video. Within a couple minutes, they start responding.

**Yuki:** Hey uh

**Yuki:** THE FUCK

**Yuki:** DID THEY CALL US OUT BY NAME

**Hiroki:** I repeat

**Hiroki:** what have I gotten myself into

**Ryushi:** How the hell do they know about us??

**Shio:** I think we need to discuss this. Tonight, after classes. Anyone up for a team dinner?

* * *

The Knights manage to find a casual place with more of a western influence, and get a table in the back of the place, sequestered from potential eavesdroppers.

Shio sits at the head of the table, nervously playing with her hands. She looks up at Mikoto and Hiroki to her left, and then at Yuki and Ryushi on her right. Her eyes lock with all four of them, and then move down to her lap. After a sharp intake of breath, she finally speaks, “So, about the video...I...I’ve heard that voice before.”

“Wh-” Ryushi stops as Yuki puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head. 

Their leader looks back up, “I...haven’t been too honest about a couple things. Not exactly dishonest, per se, more just...I wasn’t ever sure how to bring this up.”

Her hand involuntarily goes to fiddle with her hair, “A few weeks ago, I started...having dreams. They were different from normal-when I woke up I could usually remember things very clearly, and I was always more conscious than other times.”

Hiroki takes a sip of his water and knocks a set of utensils over. “Sorry, sorry,” they mumble, gesturing to continue after retrieving the items.

“There were a couple of them that...really stood out. In both of them, I’m on the streets of this city, and it's plagued with the same problems we’ve faced. The first, there’s an unrelenting fog and I can barely see. The second, the most recent one...it’s even hotter than it was yesterday. The heat was so unbearable I thought I was going to die.”

“In each dream, I’m confronted with a...person...they’re almost indescribable. Inhuman. A mix of ash and soot that resembles a person, and emanates the most evil presence. Both times, the person kills me. First time, I’m gutted through with a sword. The next, they…” Shio’s voice breaks, and she wipes an eye, “They shoot me in an alley...multiple times. And their voice...it’s the same as that video. The _ exact _ same, there’s no question in my mind.”

“...Those dreams happened before the ADs appeared. I basically had visions of both the fog and the heat wave. And in the second one, the figure...they said I’d see their ‘havoc’...” Shio finally turns her eyes upward at the others again, “Whoever this is...knows it's me, at least. They definitely know I at least oppose them. And they’ve been taunting me.”

“That’s...a lot,” Mikoto reaches across and touches her arm reassuringly, “I understand why you didn’t want to mention it.” 

“But Shio, also...we’re here for you,” Yuki says from down the table, “If you need to talk about things, we’re here for you. We’re all in the life-saving business; counseling from a bad dream is small potatoes in comparison.”

Shio manages to smile and laugh with the others at her joke, and sighs, “Yeah...I’m sorry, if I have another wild nightmare where I get murdered, you all will be the first to know.”

Hiroki nods, “I know we just met, but if you’ve got Mikoto’s trust, you’ve got mine.”

After nodding in exchange at Hiroki, the green-haired woman looks at each of her comrades, “So...that being said...we’re going to need to be more careful. I don’t know who exactly this Havoc is, but if they can invade my dreams and know who we are...and they’re the ones creating the ADs...I can’t imagine that any of us are safe anymore.”

“Is anyone safe though? With how things are going, I don’t know if anyone in Maebashi is-” he stops as their waiter approaches and asks to take their orders. After a couple awkward minutes, Ryushi coughs and continues, “The city’s being attacked. This is like, environmental terrorism of some kind. Everyone we care about is at risk. And I’m not letting anything happen to them.” His eyes burn with a ferocity Shio rarely sees, and the group is roused by his words.

“Damn right,” Hiroki holds their glass up, “Kanpai.”

“Kanpai!” everyone laughs, clinking their glasses together. 

As Shio drains some of her glass, her Persona whispers in the back of her mind, “I sense a level of unease…”

The Fool sets her water down and closes her eyes, “...that dream still bothers me...I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to it...but...there’s no way that it’s about him. There’s absolutely no way.”

The rest of the night, the group tries to treat themselves to a fun time, getting to know one another and enjoying each others’ company, as a distraction from the dread creeping into their minds.

* * *

In a dark alley near the middle of Maebashi, a cloaked, hooded figure turns a corner and comes across a large wall, already littered with tags. They reach into their pocket and remove a can of spray paint, which they begin to use, quickly and professionally leaving their mark.

A few minutes later, they stow their tool and leave as swiftly as they came, leaving only a tag of tall, bright green letters that simply say ‘HAVOC.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might've been the hardest fight scene to write yet. With so many characters, it feels awkward to focus on one too much, or to delegate the same roles to certain people (i.e. making Yuki do long range attacks every single time) so hopefully this varied it up a bit. 
> 
> I might've said this already, but a big issue I find with Persona as a series, esp in 5, is introducing some characters so late they don't feel like they get as much time as the others (*cough*Haru*cough*) sooooo I kinda frontloaded the recruiting of people. I think I'm going to switch around some events to push a couple of them back, though, to let everyone else breathe a bit.
> 
> And now. The Havoc has finally appeared.  
> I've been waiting for them to show up for a long while. They weren't in the original version of this story I started years ago, nor in the first version that happened with I rebooted it. Before that, there wasn't as much of a clear and present danger in the story, like there was in previous games, and I wanted something to be really spurring the team on that also affected the public in a major way.
> 
> Woo. Now the chaos begins, heh.


	17. Mock Heist

**Friday, May 22nd, 2020**

Shio stares at the ceiling, eyes unfocused as her brain whirs with thoughts surrounding the events of the last few days. Having another dream where she dies, encountering the most dangerous Ashen Demon yet, getting knocked out once, and then finding out she and her friends might be the only thing standing between a supernatural terrorist and the end of the world. As she contemplates all this, her fingers once again move to her locket, trying to get some reassurance from its metal between her fingers.

“The Havoc has to be a person, right?” She whispers, “They clearly exist in the real world...they can upload videos to YouTube...maybe it’s someone else with a Persona? They have to exist, right?”

She stays there a few more minutes, pondering the identity of her adversary, before finally getting up and settling into her normal morning routine. Even with her delay in getting her day started, she still arrives on campus with half-an-hour before class starts.

Just as she’s wondering what she should do to pass her time, a shock of magenta catches her eye; crouched over a flower bed situated near one of the walkways is a familiar figure dressed in overalls and boots, her hair bright and fitting right in with the flowers she’s attending to.

Shio swallows, smooths her shirt out, and quickly checks that her hair looks okay before strolling over and hovering over the other woman, “Hiya.”

Misaki’s head turns up and gains a grin, “Oh, heya!” She finishes patting the earth around a newly-planted bulb and straightens up, “How’s it going, Kiyomizu-chan?”

“Oh, well enough,” she replies, shifting her weight to more properly face the vice president, “Just hanging around before class. You doing your, er, vice presidential duties?”

The woman sighs and tucks some of her falling hair behind her ear, and in the process gets a smudge of dirt from her gloves on her cheek. “A few of the beds around campus need replanting since some of the babies I just planted a few weeks ago met an early end with that heat wave. That was crazy, huh?” She gets back down onto her knees and starts to dig out a wilted flower Shio can’t identify.

“Yeah. I’m just glad that no one died,” Shio mentions, getting on her knees as well. “Can I help at all? I don’t have to get to class for about thirty minutes.”

Misaki brightens, “Oh that’d be great!” She fishes an extra pair of gloves from a pocket, “I was supposed to have some help, but they ended up sick this morning. If you could just start getting up the dead ones on the other end, and then bring them over to this bag I’ve got, that’d rule. I’m going to use them in some compost I’m putting together.” She also hands the other girl a trowel.

The green-haired woman sets her bag down and slides the gardening mitts on before scooching a few feet over, and looking at the scattered dead plants. She hesitates as she hovers over one with the trowel, which Misaki notices. “Oh, duh, I shouldn’t have assumed you’ve gardened before.” She comes over and crouches beside Shio, “You’ve gotta be sure to get the roots, and be careful to not pierce the roots of anything else nearby. Sorry, I packed these a bit tightly, not really expecting...y’know.” She gently guides Shio’s hand to dig up the bulb, and is focused enough on it to not notice the growing warmth in the girl’s cheeks. A bit later, the plant’s out, and Misaki takes it out: “It’s easy once you do it a couple times. But go at your own pace, I’d rather it be done right that sloppily. Oh, and leave as much of the soil as you can, too.” She heads back to her spot and continues her work, while Shio, still red, does her best to follow her senpai’s instructions.

A couple minutes later, Misaki speaks up, “So, did you see that video? I feel like it’s all anyone’s talking about the past couple of days, even more than the heat wave itself.”

“Y-yeah, it’s...well, I don’t know. I wanna just believe it’s some asshole trying to troll, but...there have been a lot of weird things the past few weeks around here.” Shio plucks another growth out, and brings a few of them over to deposit away, “I can’t say moving here has been disinteresting, at the very least.”

Misaki looks over inquisitively as she finishes filling a hole with a new bulb, “Oh, you aren’t from around here?”

Shio shakes her head as she returns to her spot, “Just transferred in this semester. My old school in Tokyo felt like it wasn’t the right fit after my first year. So, here I am.”

“Oo, Tokyo? How come you came all the way out here?”

“I’d been living there my whole life, and...I guess the whole place was a bit suffocating, if that makes sense. I felt like I had to get out, get some air.” She tugs another out.

“Hm, that makes sense. I’ve been in the larger Maebashi area since I was a kid. Never gotten sick of it, though,” she finishes another bulb and sits back, taking a moment to admire her handiwork so far, “The air here is nice, and...I donno, it’s just pleasant.” She makes a face, “Or it was.”

The two mostly work in silence after that, and before too long Shio pulls her phone out to take notice of the time, “Oh dang, I gotta get going.” She quickly brings over the last of the plants and dumps them in Misaki’s bag before handing back the trowel and gloves, then scoops up her own sack.

The other woman brushes her hair back again and smiles and waves, “Thanks for the help! I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Uh huh! I’ll be there!” Shio says, starting to turn away but stopping before doing so, “Oh, uh...you’ve got…” she points to her own cheek, “A bit of dirt there.”

Misaki laughs, “Oh, whoops, thanks!” She removes a glove and wipes at the indicated spot. “Have a good day, Shio-chan!”

Shio waves while walking backwards for a moment, and as she shifts her body to reorient herself forward, her heel slips and she falls down, landing on her side at an awkward angle, though in doing so she avoids damage to her face. “...ow.”

As she straightens up, brushing bits of dirt and rock off her hands cheek, Misaki comes and kneels next to her, “Omigosh, are you alright? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have distracted you.”

Faced with close proximity to Misaki again, coupled with her embarrassment at such a clumsy act, Shio’s cheeks burn, “I-it’s fine, I should’ve been more careful.” She carefully avoids looking directly at the other woman as they both get to their feet, and then rubs her face with both hands to try and hide her glowing visage.

“You want me to get you some water or, er, something?” Misaki asks, “Anything I can do?”

“N-no, I’m fine. I should g-go, class is starting soon." The green-haired woman rubs at the bruised area on her temple and quickly walks away, "Nice to see you, bye!"

Misaki watches her go with a mix of concern and amusement. "...well, alright then..."

* * *

On her way home, Shio happens to walk nearby where the path to the Kanzato Lab is, and she’s surprised to see the path is being used for once. In fact, a good number of students are trekking down it, most in groups that seem to be talking excitedly.

A cold feeling settles at the pit of her stomach and she makes a beeline for the Lab, nearly jogging at first but then settling into a somewhat-fast walk, to not draw attention.

As the building comes into view, so too does the fairly large crowd off to one side of it, where a lot of people are taking pictures. The cold is only amplified once she elbows her way enough through the throngs of people to get a good view.

Emblazoned on the side of the lab, in letters that span over most of the available space, in a toxic, hazardous green, is “HAVOC.”

Shio snaps a photo of the offending image and quickly heads to the other side of the building, where there’s a free bench for her to sit at.

**Shio:** so

**Shio:** I found out where that graffiti was

**Shio:** [image]

**Yuki:** dude

**Yuki:** what the hell is even going on anymore

**Shio:** if anyone’s available, I’m gonna need you over here to help ASAP. this could be a real problem.

* * *

Around 5:00 PM, Shio’s sitting in a bathroom stall situated in the restroom of one of GU’s class buildings, located not too far from the Kanzato Lab. She takes a deep breath and calls Ryushi, who doesn’t take too long to pick up. “You set?”

“Yea,” he replies, “I’m good over here. I’ll see you there in like ten minutes?”

“Sounds good.” She hangs up and immediately dials Hiroki, “Yo, how are things over there?”

“It’s...well, it’s a thing,” Hiroki admits, watching from afar as several police officers document the scene and interview some students and staff. “The cops are already here. You have to do this now.”

Right after a few students had posted about the tag online, local police had picked up on the information and had shown up, cordoning off the scene. Shio had anticipated this, and realized that Ryushi’s laptop would be a dead giveaway to both them and the existence of the AR, given that it was still connected to the antenna on the other side. Yuki and Mikoto were too busy to help out, so it was up to Shio, Ryushi, and their newest recruit to slip in and prevent themselves from being found out.

“Damn, OK. It shouldn’t take too long. We’ll be quick as we can.” She ends the call and quickly re-checks that the room is empty before crossing to the AR.

* * *

As she runs toward the Lab, she meets up with Ryushi, who’d come over via a different building, just to be safe. They give each other a nod as they approach one another, and wordlessly continue to their destination. As their old entrance to the alternate reality comes into view, they skid to a halt.

Standing outside the Lab is an imposing demon, glaring straight at them. Dressed in a samurai-like armor that’s mostly dark green, the demon has faded golden skin that makes him look like a statue. His eyes are a pupil-less, but he sports an impressive mustache.

“YOUNG ONES!” He bellows out, brandishing a sword, “I CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO PASS! GO BACK, LEST I CUT YOU DOWN TO SIZE!”

“Says the guy who’s at least 10 feet tall,” Shio mutters. She slings an arm around Ryushi to pull him close for a whisper, “I’ll run interference, that should distract him enough for you to get in and do your thing.”

Ryushi hesitates, then speaks, “OK, just...don’t do a repeat of the Matador fight. If you get in trouble, get out of there,” the Death answers, and breaks away, running back to circle around and come up to the Lab from behind, and avoid being spotted.

Shio jogs up and takes a stance, “So, what do I call you, big guy?”

“Hmph, I care not for your spunk, little one. I am Jikokuten, a protector of this land. I will not allow any disasters to come to it on my watch!”

She opens her mouth and then closes it, frowning with her head tilted, “Uh dude, you seen this world? I’m pretty sure it’s already seen a fair share of disasters.”

“No matter,” he states, waving his sword in her direction, “Even now, I shall do my best to defeat any invaders.”

“ _ Ah, he’s more interested in stopping you because you’re not of this world, _ ” Suijin muses from the back of her mind, “ _ Curious, the Four Kings were always noble warriors, but usually guarded more important sites than this…” _

“ _ Regardless, he’s in our way now, and I’m not going to surrender, _ ” Shio answers back, “Come, MATADOR!”

With her snap, the bullfighter manifests and takes a swipe at the Jikokuten, who quickly retaliates, leaving the two with locked swords.

* * *

Thanks to Shio’s invocation, the Jikokuten is distracted enough to not hear Ryushi slip into the Kanzato Lab’s back door, and safely inside, the youth bolts up the steps to get back to the women’s bathroom.

While he’d like to get his equipment from this side as well, that can wait until the demon guardian is defeated, and everything in the real world is dealt with. Ryushi pokes his head through back to his side and quietly crosses over. Still on the sink counter is his laptop running the AD Search program, with a couple wires snaking out from it and into the hallway. 

Getting the laptop out is the easy part; the trickier task is dealing with the cord still attached to the Lab’s antenna. While not nearly as much of a risk nor loss as the laptop, he’d like to leave no evidence of his actions behind. And get his stuff back.

After disconnecting the device and carefully stowing it in the AR, Ryushi calls his lookout. “Hey, I’m in right now. Have they entered the building yet?”

“They’re just about to,” Hiroki responds.

* * *

“See, this is why I wanted you on my side,” Shio says triumphantly as the Jikokuten dissolves, “We were unstoppable just now!”

“This is the power of the Fiends,” Matador wipes the demon’s blood off his sword, and sheaths it. “The most powerful race of demons!”

“Fiends, huh? So there are others like you?”

Matador nods, “Unlike others demons that may appear in multiples, there is only one of each Fiend, as our might is so great. I pray for you, lest you ever challenge another of my brethren.” He bows his head and dissipates, Shio’s eyes losing their purple luster. She quickly heads inside the ruined Lab.

* * *

“Shit,” Ryushi hangs up for fear of being heard, and listens; downstairs, a door opens, and loud voices make themselves known.

“Watanabe, Akamatsu, you survey this floor. Oma and I will take the second. Simply check if anything’s out of the ordinary, leave forensics to do the actual sweep.”

“Yes sir, Detective.”

“ _ Oh yeah, definitely time to leave, _ ” Ryushi thinks reluctantly, glancing for a moment at the cable in his hand, and then surreptitiously crawling back into the bathroom and crossing over.

Shio’s just entered the bathroom when Ryushi climbs through the mirror. “Cops are already there, I couldn’t get the cable.”

“That...shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Shio asks tentatively, glancing at the laptop on the counter with some relief.

“Yeah, it’s just a wire. Nothing worth worrying about, really.” He scoops up his computer and begins to gather up everything else he’d used for his search radar. “Let’s get out of here, I’ve had enough excitement for one week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shio: disaster
> 
> I realized that last time I kinda just abruptly didn't include that phone call with Shio's mom; rest assured she'll get time to shine later. Not a ton per se, but...let's just say there's going to be a certain segment of the story where she'll be present and we get more of what their dynamic is. It'll come, I promise.
> 
> Hiroki doesn't go to GU, they were just nearby and could help out.
> 
> This chapter was originally several days longer, but since this one day itself ended up having so much, I decided it would be better to go ahead and get it up before waiting for all the rest of it to be done.
> 
> Next time, ~social links~
> 
> Also. Hm. Fiends...fiends...


	18. Bonds' Embers

**Saturday, May 23rd, 2020**

**Akari:** Hey

 **Akari:** I was thinking tonight we should hang out. Get dinner again. It’s been a couple weeks. 

**Akari:** Sound good to u?

 **Shio:** yea it does! I’ll be back by like 5 ish hopefully.

 **Akari:** Great, see u then.

Shio reads her aunt’s last text as she strolls into the environment club meeting, taking her normal seat up near the back.

“Alright, since all of us as a group can’t really ever all get involved in one big project at the same time, we’ve decided to tackle a lot of smaller ones instead,” the president starts. “About half of the club is members who’ve volunteered with us before, and the other half are our newcomers, so we’re going to do some random drawings to pair each veteran with one or two newbies, and they’ll all get involved in some effort between now and next week.”

Most of the students nod at the plan, intrigued, which makes him smile. “Great. Now, if the newer members could all come grab a slip of paper from this bucket…”

A few minutes later, Shio’s clenching a small square piece of paper with a ‘9’ on it, curious who she’ll be paired with. 

Once the first half has grabbed their slips, the veterans take turns taking their numbers out, and then call out to see who they’re paired with. Eventually, Misaki pulls her slip out and looks up and around the room expectantly, “9?”

Shio isn’t sure if she should be elated or hide in a corner. Maybe both. She awkwardly raises her hand, finding herself unable to speak. Her senpai spots her hand and smiles, “Oh cool, Kiyomizu-chan!” 

As the vice president heads up the steps, Shio flits through her mind, “ _OK, maybe this time one of you will be better at this. Who’s good at not being a nervous wreck?_ ”

Nekomata scampers forward into her mind’s eye; “ _Oh ho, this is_ exactly _what I’m here for-_ ”

“ _Absolutely not, you’re just going to try and make me shamelessly flirt, and I can’t handle that right now_ ,” Shio sighs, “ _Matador, you’re up. You’ve made me feel self-assured before_.”

The demon waves his capote in victory as she switches him to be in front just as Misaki plops down next to her. “What a coincidence, huh? I’m almost willing to credit you for yesterday morning, buuuuuut we can do better than that, right?”

With the Fiend taking over as the leading influence on her being, Shio is surprised to find she feels...fine. Confident, even. Even with her crush teasing her, something feels...better, as if she feels more in charge of her feelings.

She shrugs, “Hey, that’s fine with me. I won’t object to hanging out more.” 

“Hell yeah. We should...hm, I actually don’t know what we should do. I’ll have to get back to you once I’ve gotten a better idea. Here, gimme your phone.” Without waiting for a response, she plucks Shio’s phone out of her hand and pulls up her contact list, quickly adding herself to it. “Text me back so I have yours. What days are you generally free?”

“Uh, I should be good on...Wednesday and Friday this next week?” Shio takes her phone back and checks her calendar, “Yeah, either of those days.”

“Mkay, probably Wednesday then. I normally do trash pickups in the middle of the week, I’ll have to get with some people and see what areas haven’t been done recently.”

As they get up to leave, Misaki looks back at Shio and squints. After an uncomfortable few seconds, she opens her mouth, “...you wear contacts or something? Your eyes seem...different.”

“Uh...no?” Shio turns her phone’s front-facing camera on and attempts to see what the older woman’s talking about: She twists and turns her head to capture her irises from every angle, yet fails to see anything noteworthy. “What’re you talking about?”

Misaki stares for a moment again before shrugging, “Dunno, for a second, they seemed...well, I really don’t know. Whatever, I’ll text you later! Have a good day!” She darts off, leaving Shio alone at the back of the club room. The Fool sighs and closes her camera app, which reveals her contact list again, and it just now registers with Shio that she got Misaki’s number.

“...oh FUCK YEA!”

The remaining students in the room all look in her direction at her exclamation, which leaves about twenty people staring at her. 

“Oh, sorry…I uh, scored well on a test!” She lies, and quickly vacates the room herself.

* * *

Akari’s already sitting at the bar when Shio arrives at Endo’s place. Her aunt waves her over.

The young woman drops her bag down beside the stool and hops up to take her place next to the elder Kiyomizu. Joji briefly comes over to give his customary ‘hello’ and confirm they’re having their usuals, which they agree to.

As the chef moves down to speak with another customer, Akari turns to her niece, “So, how was your day?”

“Mm, pretty good. I er, I got this pretty girl’s number.” A sheepish grin forms as she twitches her phone in her hand. “OK, it’s for a thing, not...y’know. But still!”

“Oh yea!” She holds her hand up for a high five that Shio reciprocates, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

“I’m hopeful…” She draws a circle with her finger on the bar, “She’s...really cool. Like gosh, I actually don’t know enough about her, but she…” Shio trails off, unable to form a sentence.

“Haha, I know what you mean. When you find someone like that, they can really just capture all your attention.” Akari gets quieter as she finishes, and then purses her lips.

“...Akari-san?”

“Hm?”

“Um, well, you’re always watching romantic dramas and stuff...are you seeing anyone? Or trying to?” Shio finishes her question and holds her breath; she’s been meaning to ask this for a few weeks now, though something had always been nagging at her to avoid the topic. Now, though, she feels an entryway, and seizes it.

Akari takes a while to take a gulp of her water and sits the glass down before answering, “It’s been awhile. A long time. I...I try not to think about them.” She closes her eyes, “And, if you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about them.”

Joji chooses that moment to place their bowls in front of them. Shio hesitates before leaning over and putting a hand on her aunt’s shoulder, “No worries, I understand. That’s...how I feel about dad.” She sighs and picks up her chopsticks, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin our night out…”

The brunette shakes her head and picks up her own utensils, “No no, you had a completely valid question. I appreciate you respecting my wish.” She picks up a piece of meat and slowly savors it in her mouth, “Mm…” she swallows, “Now, this is something I wanna talk about.”

Shio laughs, digging into her own meal, “I can get behind that.”

**Sunday, May 24th, 2020**

Shintaro Komeki opens his arms in greeting when his apprentice enters his shop, “Ah, Shio-chan! Welcome, I missed our session last week. I trust you’ve been feeling more up to snuff?”

She laughs and bows, “Yes sensei, I’m ready for whatever you throw at me today.”

The older gentleman indicates for her to come up behind the sales counter, “I will actually be out for a couple hours, and I need you to watch the shop while I am gone.”

“O-Oh, wow...um, OK.” Shio heads to the front, where Komeki has a register set up along with an old computer, and an assortment of random items like a switchblade, an oil-covered rag, and other things Shio assumes are for working on older pieces of equipment he’s not ready to sell yet.

“Everything already has a price tag on it, and I do not accept hagglers; anyone who tries to talk you down from something, you ignore. You sell it for what it’s listed as. If there are any problems, you’re welcome to call me.” He straightens his robe as he prepares to head out, then pauses, “Today will be your first day training against an actual opponent; he will arrive later, soon after I plan on returning. I expect great things today, Shio-chan.” He winks and heads out, leaving Shio in charge.

She sits down in the provided chair and stares blankly for a moment. “Well...this is a change of pace.” The woman certainly had worked retail before, but not in an antique weapon shop, and never one as informal as this.

For the first hour, she peruses behind the counter, glancing through random documents Komeki keeps in drawers, trying to find something to keep herself occupied. She figures she could _dust_ again since it’s been a couple weeks since she last cleaned the store, but...she could also give herself a break. Which she elects to do.

As she puts away a report on ancient Chinese broadswords, her phone buzzes.

**Hiroki:** ay

 **Shio:** oh hi!

 **Hiroki:** what’s up??

 **Shio:** at work actually. Kinda boring haha. Wbu?

 **Hiroki:** not much. Was wondering if u were free today? I figured we could get to know each other more

She racks her brain for any commitments she’s already made for today, and not remembering any, decides to take them up on their offer.

**Shio:** yea! I should be done around like, 2 ish. 

**Hiroki:** sweet. I’ve got a favor I’m doing for a friend of my mom’s soon, but then I'll be good, probably around the same time. I’ll text ya.

 **Shio:** cool see u later

After making plans, the Fool changes her mind and turns some music on on her phone, and gets to work making the store look neater. She dusts, arranges some crooked displays, and sweeps the floor twice. As she sits back against the counter and admires her handiwork, she can’t help but notice that she’s never seen Komeki entertain a customer besides her, and he’d hired her on. She had never visited during the week, so she hoped he was busier on those days then now, when it felt like a tumbleweed blowing through would be apt.

Soon, her sensei returns, some papers under his arm. “Ah, well done, the establishment is still standing,” he jokes, tossing his documents onto his makeshift desk. 

“Gee, thanks Komeki-san,” she chides, having just put away her cleaning instruments. “It was pretty quiet...no one came through.”

“Ah well, Sundays are usually not busy around here. Your sparring partner should be here any moment; why don’t you go ahead out back and begin your stretches before your bout?”

“Yes sir,” she retreats back through the store to the training yard and does as he says, getting her body ready, trying to picture who her sensei thinks is apt to fight her, a demon-killing machine. Sure, here, she can’t call on the monsters inside her head itching to get in on the action, but she’s been getting better with her staff. She’s found she can manage some less-powerful demons on her own without draining from her mental reserves.

In the store, she hears a door open, “Ah, Taira-san, it is good to see you.”

“And you as well, Komeki-san. It’s been too long.”

Shio’s head shoots up from the stretching pose she’s in. “...oh my god.”

“My disciple is just outside, getting ready. If you’d like to go meet her, I’ll be out in a few minutes. I need a moment to collect myself after being up for so long.” 

“Alright, take your time Komeki-san.” Shio gets to her feet and waits amusedly, until the backdoor opens to reveal Hiroki, dressed in his normal workout gear. He makes eye contact and stops abruptly, raising his finger and pointing, “The heck are you doing here?”

Shio laughs, “I should be the one asking that, dude.” She clicks her staff out and bends her knees slightly, smirking, “You ready for an ass kicking?”

Her partner smirks and drops to a stance as well, “Only if you are.” Behind them, Komeki slowly walks out, glancing at both of their poses surprisingly.

“Well, I cannot tell if you both got off on the right or wrong foot,” he admits, moving somewhat in between the two. 

“Oh, this is a good reaction.” Shio assures him. “How are we doing this, sensei?”

“W-well,” Komeki starts, confused, “First I wanted you both to simply get some practice in. Get a feel for each other’s style.” 

Shio obliges, quickly thrusting her weapon at her opponent’s shoulder. Hiroki twists his frame to let it pass by, and grabs her staff. “Uh uh,” he taunts, before jerking her forward via the staff and kicking her in the stomach. 

The Fool stumbles back, one hand cradling her new bruise. “Oo, that didn’t I expect.” She twirls her staff back so it’s in two hands, and kicks off from the ground and swipes it across, catching Hiroki in the side and leaving him panting on the ground.

“Tch, you can do better than that.” He pulls back his prosthetic and drives his fist toward Shio, who blocks it with her staff.

“Not this time.”

* * *

“You both did extremely well,” Komeki says as he hands both of the young adults bottles of water, the two sitting in a couple of lawn chairs the martial arts expert produced. “Maybe a little flamboyant, yes, but you at least did so with technique and determination.

“Shio, every week I can see improvement in you. You did better with your footwork this time especially. For next time, I’d say learn to be both one and also independent from your weapon; to not let it define you, but also be more graceful with moving it as well.”

“Hiroki, you haven’t lost your touch, for the most part, though those couple of times you deliberately took blows didn’t really do you any favors; you have good speed, and it’s better to dodge if you still have a chance.”

The two bow in their seats, “Thank you, Komeki-san.”

* * *

“How do you know Komeki-san?” Hiroki asks as the two leave the man’s shop together. “You must’ve met him recently. If you hadn’t, he probably would’ve mentioned you before last week. He loves talking about his trainees.”

“Oh, really? Huh, that’s...kinda embarrassing,” Shio admits, “But I found his little neck of the woods when I was looking for any weapons for us to use. He took me on as an apprentice, said he saw some sort of drive in me.”

“That sounds like him. Don’t blame him if he ever gets too rough or too sentimental, he’s been wanting someone like you for years.” Hiroki rotates their shoulder, “And I can see why he was so excited for me to test you, you’re a natural. I mean, I’ve seen you with...Suijin, I think your Persona was? Even without her, you’re daunting to go up against.”

“You’re not bad yourself. How come he isn’t training you?” The two turn a corner, staying in the less-mainstream part of town the weapons shop is in. 

“Oh, he tried. I just never wanted to...devote myself to it like he wanted me to, I guess. My passions lie elsewhere, and I got by enough with Mikoto.” He points ahead to a small café, “Wanna grab something?”

“Sure.” The two head inside the establishment, which has a modern western style, and grab a booth towards the back.

“What’re these other passions you mentioned?” She inquires as they wait for a waitress to head to them. “I honestly have no idea, if it’s not like, being fit and active.”

They smirk, resting their head in the crook of the palm of their prosthetic, “Guess.”

Shio drums her fingers, “Mmm...you...uh...play music?”

He snorts, “God no, I’m tone deaf. No, I’m a mechanic. And a pretty alright one, if I do say so myself.” He rubs the bridge of his nose and grins with pride.

“Oh that rules! Is it just a hobby or are you pursuing it?” She looks up as the waitress arrives and pours them both cups of coffee, thanking her.

Hiroki sips from his cup, “I’m working at this place actually near Gunma University, that’s why I was able to step in the other day. I’ve been there since I was 17, so about four years now?” He puts the cup down gently, “I’m finishing up at Maebashi’s Institute of Technology next year, and after that I’m hoping to maybe get into one of the bigger corporation’s engineering departments.

“Damn dude. I really feel like nothing next to all of you guys. Mikoto’s...well, Mikoto. Ryushi’s a genius with computers and stuff, and Yuki’s really headstrong and is managing a baseball team basically all on her own, and playing on it too.” She sips her coffee, 

“...are you serious?” Shio looks at him, finding him now sitting straight up and looking at her with incredulity, like she’s an idiot. “You are definitely the team’s best fighter, you’re good at combat strategies, you seem to be on top of everything regarding the AR...that’s a whole damn lot, considering that it involves _saving lives_.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Her fingers absentmindedly fiddle with her hair, “Though you all have been great over there too, not just me.”

“OK then. So what’re you doing with your life? You got a major yet?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah, I’m doing something with medical sciences. Not exactly sure what yet, like if I’m gonna pursue med school afterwards. I just know I wanna help people with whatever I do.” 

Hiroki’s voice deadpans, “So you say you’re nothing next to me, when I like working on things that go ‘vroom vroom’ and you actually wanna save lives in your career too?” He then lifts his prosthetic and inclines his head toward it, “You really think I would see med science as something meh?”

 _“Your fellow warrior is right, you lead a noble pursuit in life. Be proud of it,”_ Matador whispers.

“ _Even you? Jeez, alright. I’ll try._ ” Shio thinks, a bit red and laughing to herself, “Yeah, I guess so. I’ll do better.”

“Good.” Hiroki cocks a smile.

“Thanks. I guess just, I’ve been a little distracted lately to focus on my own wellbeing.” She lightly slaps her own cheeks in quick succession as if to wake herself up, “OK, unrelated; how do you know Komeki-sensei?”

“Oh, right. Well, he was my physical therapist.” Hiroki again indicates their arm.

“Wait WHAT,” Shio exclaims, “I thought he was some mystical martial arts weapons dealer man, not...that!”

“I know right? He doesn’t exude that kind of aura at all. But he is, and a great one; he was able to really help me for the first few months I had my prosthetic, get me to adjust. At first I was too disillusioned with losing my arm...like, I was sure my life was over.” Hiroki looks embarrassed and ashamed to admit this, eyes downward and hand on the back of his neck, “He got me back to my old self, though. And it didn’t help that I managed to get this thing.”

Shio looks at her friend’s metal arm, “I’ve been meaning to ask, that thing looks...way more advanced than any prosthetic I’ve ever seen.”

“I was in the right place at the right time. The Kirijo Group was looking for a candidate for this model, and I was right there, ready and waiting. My parents didn’t have to pay any insurance either, it was pretty nice of them.” 

“Shit,” Shio murmurs, now openly staring, “Do you mind if I look at it?”

They rest their arm on the table, “No of course, I expected you to ask once you mentioned your major.”

Shio examines the finger joints carefully, and whistles, “Gosh, this thing is amazing. I can only hope I get to contribute something like this someday.”

Hiroki smiles, “Hey, we both will.”

“Heh, now that’s a sentiment I can get behind.”

* * *

“Hey, that was a fun time,” Hiroki says as they exit the café a while later, “You’re even cooler than I thought you were. I’m definitely looking forward to sparring next time too.”

“Same with you man. I wish I knew more about cars and stuff so I could’ve understood you a bit better, haha.” 

“Well...that reminds me of something. I think I’ve got an idea that might make our job in the AR easier.” The lightning-user ruffles his hair, “I’ll have to look into some things, but it’s likely possible.”

“Oh? What’re you thinking of?” Shio asks excitedly.

“I’ll let you know later, I don’t want to get your hopes up.” He does turn to face her and extends his hand though, “Regardless, I’m looking forward to helping you and the team out, Leader.” He adds the last part as a tease, winking.

Shio laughs and accepts the handshake, “Same here. We’re gonna light ‘em up.”

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Strength Arcana…**

**Tuesday, May 26th, 2020**

On her way to class, Shio gets updates from two of her text conversations:

**Misaki:** Hey! I think tomorrow at like 4 will be good. You ever been to Omuro Park?

**Hiroki:** So I talked with Shio about this

 **Hiroki:** I’ve got this idea for something to give us a real asset in the AR. 

**Hiroki:** Any1 free today?

She elects to respond to Misaki first.

**Shio:** Nope, but sounds great!! I’ll see u then!

 **Misaki:** Awesome, can’t wait! 

By the time she’s done reading Miskai’s message, the others have dropped into the Knights’ chat as well.

**Yuki:** Yeah I can, what’s up?

 **Ryushi:** Not me, sorry. :( 

**Mikoto:** I’m game.

 **Shio:** can today, im only busy tomorrow

 **Hiroki:** alright, meet up at the studio after classes. 

**Hiroki:** Mikoto, stop by my shop and help me bring some stuff over.

* * *

The two female Knights walk into the studio that afternoon to see Mikoto lugging a couple of red gas canisters through the mirror. They follow to find them and Hiroki on the other side, the latter with a large bag under his arm. He waves, “Oh hey! Y’all ready to go hunting?”

Yuki crosses her arms, “For what?”

Hiroki shakes his bag, which elicits a lot of jangling, “A car to fix up, of course.”

* * *

The four wander the streets of Maebashi, looking for a vehicle that suits their needs. 

“The way I figure,” Hiroki starts, as he checks inside a truck, “If the Ashen Demons have been showing up farther and farther away for y’all, you’ll need reliable transportation on this side, if the real world is a no-go. It’ll need to be a van or something, to fit all five of us. And in good enough condition that I can get it running,”

“I’d also prefer something armored, I don’t want to have to worry about devoting too much time to fixing it up, or getting a new one entirely,” Shio thinks out loud, looking around at all the dilapidated cars strewn about.

Hiroki randomly pops the trunk of a Toyota and glances through it, “Pretty much everything I’ve looked through has an engine that’s shot. We could switch one out, but that’d take more time and would need equipment that’s only in shops. I’m gonna assume whatever disaster befell this place ravaged a lot of machinery that’s been outdoors. Ergo, finding a locked garage might be our best bet.”

“Heeeeeey!” Yuki calls from about 100 yards down the street, waving her arms above her head, “I think I’ve found something promising!”

Mikoto, Shio, and Hiroki jog down to her, where she points at the complex she’s standing in front of: A six story building, with the bottom walls a light gray, the middle four floors made of a light brown stone, and the top with glass lining the outside. The parking lot is nearly empty except for a single police car. The sign next to the gate Yuki’s standing at reads “Maebashi Police Station.”

“Oh man, this could totally work. If we can find an armored truck or something, that’d be perfect!” Shio gasps, “And I have no idea why I didn’t think of this before, but we could get more weapons inside, and maybe even get more data on what happened here.” Without another word she starts to sprint over to the front doors, and thrusts them open.

Right inside is a large space that extends about half of the floor, with a tiled floor that’s cracked a fair amount. There’s a fair amount of propaganda on the walls about staying safe and reporting disturbances to nearby officers, that sorta stuff. It’s typical for a police station.

The thing that’s out of the ordinary is the large volume of demons inside.

There are a few different types-Shio spots a couple small little red guys with moon-shaped heads dancing in the corner and snickering, a floating demon she’s sure belongs to the Mitama family, and a host of others she doesn’t recognize. 

Mostly, though, there’re the cops. Lots of uniformed people with dark pink, dead skin, and Shio notices most of them have pistols either in hand or holstered. At a desk nearby sits one, who looks up at her when she opens the doors, and stares at her with sunken, purely-white eyes, before smiling and revealing a set of rotten teeth, “Welcome, human, how may I help you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ZOMBIE COPS! One of my fave demons for how dumb they are. (https://64.media.tumblr.com/3989efe878da83f8c5391a408f665f4e/tumblr_nzfsn4gAQz1rm3a56o2_1280.jpg)
> 
> I believe I mentioned this before, but I really hope Hiroki's portrayal doesn't feel like it falls into ableism or anything. Having a disabled party member that is just as good at fighting as the others is important, but...y'know, I'm not physically disabled myself, so I'm not writing from experience. If you see anything that looks shitty, please let me know so I can try and do better!
> 
> I'm trying to get my style of writing to be more...hm, what's the word...I dunno, I just want to get *better*. If you think the story is lacking in some way with its prose, let me know! I really want to get better for y'all!
> 
> Well in writing this chapter I had to go back and think: the fuck was Shio majoring in again?
> 
> Next time: A DUNGEON?? :O
> 
> Oh hey...Yakuza 7 is in less than 3 weeks...oh dear god y'all better not expect a chapter in that first couple weeks it's out XD
> 
> See ya next time! Thanks for reading!
> 
> I'm pretty firm on the idea that a lot of the side social links won't be in the fic. They may be introduced, a la the Fortune one, but unless I get proper motivation, they will not be in the first run of the fic. Again, the fic will act as Shio completed them, for fusing purposes. 
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)  
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito  
> Justice-Misaki Hasegawa  
> Hermit-Akari Kiyomizu  
> Strength-Hiroki Taira  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima  
> Temperance-Mikoto Goda  
> Star-Agatha


	19. The Police Station Raid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE BACK.

**Tuesday, May 26th, 2020**

The undead policeman stares at the group’s gaping mouths with patience, “Is there a way I may assist you?”

Shio clears her throat, “Y-yes, I was...hoping to take the tour! Y’know, get an appreciation for my local law enforcement and all that.” She holds her breath as she finishes, “ _ God I feel gross even saying that. Ugh. _ ”

The officer smiles more broadly, “But of course, it’s always great to see young ones such as yourselves become interested in the workings of our government. I’ll just need to see your identification, please.” He holds out a gloved hand.

Yuki, Mikoto, and Hiroki all drop their cards into his hand while Shio fishes around in her pocket for her wallet. By the time she finds it he’s already checked the other three’s and has handed them back their pieces of plastic. The zombie cop accepts hers and looks at it, “Hmm, Shio Kiyomizu-chan?” He looks from her to the ID and back again.

“Uh, yep, that’s me!” An unsettling feeling makes itself known in the pit of her stomach as the cop hands her back her ID and then reaches for a microphone on his desk.

The demon lightly coughs, and toggles his device to be on before suddenly screeching into a PA system “ **THE DEMON KILLER LADY IS HERE! ALL OFFICERS READY YOURSELVES FOR COMBAT, ALL VISITORS ARE CONSCRIPTED TO FIGHT TOO! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!** ”

Behind the Knights, the entrance doors slam shut and a lock appears out of nowhere and clicks into place around the handles. Every demon looks at the group for a moment before pushing forward so that they’re all forming a crowd around Shio and her friends, enclosing them in a half-circle that borders the entrance wall. Every zombie cop aims their gun at the group, and the other varied assortment of monsters dance around with mischievous and murderous looks, snickering loudly.

The receptionist cop turns his microphone off and looks back at Shio, now smiling politely again, “Will there be anything else?”

Shio looks at the others, “Hey, do y’all need anything?”

Yuki facepalms, “You are way too OK with this situation. They have  _ guns _ .”

The Strength sets their bag down and pulls a couple of longer wrenches out of it, “Eh, I could use a drink but I’ll be fine.”

Summoning Kuebiko behind them, Mikoto mutters “It’d be nice to have Ryushi. I don’t know if we’re getting out of here anytime soon.”

The leader looks back, “I think we’re fine, thanks though. Gotta say, ‘Demon Killer Lady’ sounds nice.” In one swift motion, she grabs her staff hanging on her belt, leaps onto the desk, and catches the cop in the rib cage as she clicks it on, launching him into some of his fellow officers, the lot of them crashing to the ground.

Her attack sends the demons into a frenzy, which gives everyone their cue to act. Mikoto immediately lets off a Marakukaja, fearing that the high number of enemies will be a problem for them in the long run, and thus wanting to minimize the damage they take. Yuki takes a couple long strides towards the demon nearest to her (a zombie cop, taking aim at her heart) and clocks him in the head with her bat, which decapitates him and then dissolves. 

“ _ Alright, first time, you can do this Hiroki, _ ” he thinks, before calling his Persona out. “RAIJU!” 

The cyber-wolf manifests and immediately goes for the nearest zombie, chomping it around the middle and letting loose a shower of sparks, frying the demon, before tossing it at a crowd of enemies, the aftershocks doing some light damage.

“I know you guys are already dead, but I think you need to be re-acquainted with it,” Shio smirks, snapping her fingers, “I summon you, Matador!”

The bullfighter manifests nearby and cuts clean through the stunned zombies, who upon disintegrating let out pitiful wails. “Hmph, cowards.”

The Temperance finds themselves leaving Kuebiko behind to rush into the largest crowd of enemies, landing blows wherever they can to thin the enemies’ numbers. Thanks to the defense spell, any attacks that land on the group merely cause them to stumble instead of going down.

A few minutes of fighting in, though, the spell begins to wear off. More of the cops emerge from doors around the hall, filling in the gaps that the Knights are able to create in the horde.

“We’re gonna need a plan!” Mikoto calls over the cackling demons, punching another out of existence, “Something big to get rid of them all at once!”

“I don’t think I have any spells big enough for that!” The Fool grimaces as a cop nails her in the leg with a slug, leaving a nasty red welt. “Anyone have any bright ideas?”

Hiroki, losing their protection first, stumbles back after being whipped by a Naga’s tail, and groans as they hit the floor. 

Yuki bashes three demons at once with a sweeping hit from her bat, which Mikoto catches out of the corner of their eye. They shove their way through a couple approaching officers and move Kuebiko in-between the two humans and the nearest demons, before grabbing her shoulder and turning her to face them, “Do you trust me?”

Puzzled, Yuki raises an eyebrow, “Uh, yeah dude, we fight demons together. But what-”

“Then trust me,” Mikoto interrupts, “And lay down, and hold your bat above your head, tightly.

Yuki opens her mouth to object, and then sees Shio, with a black eye and other noticeable wounds, get pushed into a corner by a group of at least a dozen demons who have banded together to take down their prey. “OK, yeah, not the time for questioning.” She complies, and as soon as she gets into position, Mikoto grabs her tightly by the ankles and begins to spin.

Very fast.

“Ohhhhh my Gooooood I’M GOING TO _KILL_ YOU, MIKOTOOOOO!” She calls, her voice distorted from the whirring her body is doing. Combined, the two form a spinning, bludgeoning machine, Yuki’s bat smashing into every officer that Mikoto can manage to steer them into. Her knuckles turn white from the grip on her bat, and her face turns green. 

Hiroki, massaging his temple, opens his eyes to see the surprisingly effective demon-killing method the two have developed in action, Normal people would’ve already either dropped the woman or tripped and fell, but Mikoto’s countless hours of training their body have led them to perfecting their balance, At least, enough to do this.

The spinning duo plow through the horde, clearing it out in a much quicker fashion than before. The backup reserves also begin to slow down, until only a few scattered demons are left, along with the crowd that’s now obscuring Shio from view, though the demons forming it have turned to watch the odd spectacle before them.

Without warning, Mikoto releases Yuki at just the right time, flinging the Chariot directly at Shio’s captors, bat first. 

“WHAT THE FUCK MIKOTO?!” Yuki screams, fearing the worst, but finds her landing soft; after crashing through a couple of the cops, she lands on a soft patch of fur on Raiju’s back; Hiroki, still on the floor about ten yards away, sees that they succeeded, and makes a fist triumphantly, before wincing. 

Two large Oni demons who had been holding Shio down are knocked away from Raiju’s summoning, which lets the green-haired woman scramble to her feet, dodging away from the Oni’s attempts to recapture her, and stand by a recovering Yuki, who’s still green and has both her hands holding her stomach. Shio shoves an elixir at her, which upon usage alleviates the general feelings of motion sickness, before striding over to the remnants of the the horde, now cowering in a corner, cracking her knuckles and eyes glowing with rage as Suijin materializes alongside her.

The other three gather together and nurse their wounds as they watch Shio go to town on the demons.

“That...was fucked up, Mikoto. I nearly threw up on you.”

“Hey, it worked, right? And thank you for not doing so.”

“Yeah, yeah, it did. Hey, how did you know Hiroki would get Raiju to save me?”

Mikoto blinks, “I didn’t. I figured you’d be fine.” They're met with a glare in response.

As she finishes dealing with the last demons, Shio begins to speak, but then notices the receptionist cop, somehow alive, is now stirring in the corner, getting to his feet. “Hang on.” She strides over to the demon, who looks at her with a now frightened look.

“H-hey, I’m sorry for before, I was just...hey! Why don’t you recruit me, I bet I could really be an asset for y-” His attempt to save his life is cut off as Shio bashes him a couple times, taking out the rest of his health and dissolving him.

“Fuck no, cop.” Yuki and Hiroki laugh at her bluntness.

Mikoto stands from checking out the lock, “Yeah, I don’t think this is coming off. And the walls seem...reinforced. I think the demons cast some sort of spell to keep us in here.”

“My guess is taking out whatever demon is in charge here will get us our freedom. The question is, where is it? And who knows how many other demons are in here?” Yuki asks.

“We’ll just have to figure it out as we go along.” Shio begins ticking her fingers off as she counts, “OK, one, we need to seek a way out. Two, see if we can get keys to some van or truck, and its location. Three, get any other information or useful things we can scrounge up. On that note…” She gains a ‘I’m about to do something bad’ smile, “Let’s split up, gang!”

Hiroki bursts into laughter, while Yuki groans, “I shouldn’t have laughed earlier, that encouraged her.”

Mikoto simply looks confused at her remark, which makes Hiroki shake his head as he finishes laughing, “You really didn’t have a childhood, did you?”

“As much as I hate to say it, I do agree with Shio. Two of us work our way up, the other two check out any basement levels? I can’t imagine this place doesn’t have at least one of them.” Yuki wipes some demon blood off her bat as she speaks.

“I say Hiroki and I stay separate; I wanna check out the top floors, especially the chief’s office, see if there’s any sort of useful information. Hiroki should focus on the car,” Shio instructs, reaching into her pack to pull out a couple of healing items she’d grabbed from the Velvet Room a few days ago and handing them and a walkie talkie over to the mechanic. 

“I’ll stick with Hiroki,” Mikoto says, “I can heal on my own, as can a couple of Shio’s Personas, so the two of us shouldn’t be together.”

“Sounds good. I get the ‘demon killer lady,’” Yuki punches Shio’s arm playfully and heads over to the door that leads to the staircases. “See you two later, stay safe!”Shio waves back as she jogs after the Chariot. 

“You two as well!” Hiroki calls, fetching his bag and then heading to the stairs as well, Mikoto close behind.

* * *

The second floor of the police station turns out to be a lot of desks and cubicles laid out in an efficient manner, in order to seemingly fill up as much of the space with them as possible. The overcrowded space makes it hard to navigate, especially with the small legion of demons they find.

“I don’t like fighting in tight spaces,” Shio laments as she summons her water guardian, who has to hunch over a bit to avoid hitting the ceiling. Suijin hurls an Aqua spell at a Naga, while Shio bashes a particularly annoying Sandman over the head. The Naga gets thrown and crashes through two workstations before dissolving; a Nigi Mitama lands nearby after a crushing blow from Yuki’s bat.

Haniyasu-Hime fires an array of jagged stones at another Sandman, who gets peppered enough to leave new craters in his moon head. In retaliation he performs a Garula spell that tosses Yuki into a wall.

“Oh now you’re in for it,” she calls out angrily, rubbing at the point of collision. Her Persona materializes and fires off chunks of rock at the small demon, who nimbly dodges and then pointedly snickers at her before blowing a raspberry.

Shio witnesses this act as Suijin finishes with the Naga, and noticing that the laughing Sandman is the last-demon-standing, leaps onto one of the remaining desks and jumps between them to close the distance. As his eyes open from finishing his laughter, his mirth turns to terror as he notices the pair of feet quickly approaching his face, and before he can react further Shio slams down on him as she lands, the demon dissolving into ash and darkness. She maneuvers through the wreckage and reaches the aching Yuki, summoning High Pixie to heal her.

“Thanks. Ugh, that dick,” Yuki complains, “I should’ve been more careful.”

Gathering their bearings, the pair comb through the desks of officers, detectives, liteunants, and other ranks, trying to find any sort of indication as to what befell the Ashen Realm. Unfortunately, their search proves fruitless, the most recent reports of goings-on that they can find don’t indicate anything unusual, besides a complete lack of explanations to the state of the world.

“Well, we haven’t found like, anything worth our time so far.,” Shio says, “Maybe with any luck there’ll be something good in the chief’s office. Let’s check up there.”

Shio follows Yuki up the last set of stairs, which take them to a conference room with a high ceiling. On the other side is a set of double doors that Shio presumes will lead to the office. 

Hovering between them and their goal, though, is a tall angel-like demon, with faded yellow feathery wings, a set of robes that are green on top, then blue and yellow around the feet, and a pointed helm that has spikes in several directions. Thankfully, its back is to them, which allows the two to quietly close the door to remain unnoticed. 

“...Is...that the Statue of Liberty?” Yuki asks, dumbfounded.

“I’m sensing a lot of power from that thing-we might be able to defeat it together.” Shio checks through her bag, looking at her remaining healing elixirs, “Though I’d rather get the others, to be safe.”

Just as she reaches for the walkie strapped to her side, it comes to life, “H-hey, you guys there?”

Shio clicks the button to talk, “Yeah, go ahead Mikoto.”

“There’s...there’s a friend asking for you down here.”

The two ladies look at one another in confusion. “A what?”

* * *

**40 Minutes Earlier...**

To the surprise of both Hiroki and Mikoto, they don’t encounter many demons in the basement levels. They do happen upon a group of zombie cops slacking off and playing poker, and a Nue eating something that smells foul, but otherwise are free to explore the three levels belowground.

The first contains little of note; it has some recreational areas and a standard gym for the officers, but nothing that they find useful.

The second, however, ends up the gold mine they were looking for. After dealing with the Nue (and pinching their noses) they discover an open room that houses a number of weapons and some body armor as well. 

“Oh shit, this is perfect,” Hiroki finds some armor that fits them and straps it on, slapping their chest for emphasis, “That feels sturdy.”

Meanwhile, a cabinet on the wall catches Mikoto’s eye, and upon examination reveals a few sets of keys. Hiroki leans over them and excitedly grabs a set of them, “These are definitely for vehicles! Nice find, Miki!”

Mikoto rolls their eyes, “How can you tell?”

Hiroki dangles them out, “I just can.” He points at a map plastered to the wall next to the cabinet, which indicates that the police’s garage is a couple blocks away. “And I think that’s where we’ll find the baby these go to.”

The two go through the rest of the armaments, considering the pistols but ultimately deciding to ask the others about using guns first, since neither of them have had training with them. In one final crate, Hiroki gets a pair of shock batons, which makes their eyes light up. “Oh yes, this is good, this is good.” He clicks them on, still somehow having power, and smirks. 

As they reach the lowest level, they finally find what Hiroki has been expecting to see: a long line of iron-barred cells, utilized for those awaiting trials or transfer to a proper prison system. Some of them are open, but most are still sealed shut.

“Do you feel like something’s missing?” Mikoto inquires, running their hand along one of the bars and staring into the confined space behind it.

“Uh, like what?”

“The people. We’ve never seen evidence of what happened to all the humans that presumably lived here. No bodies, no skeletons, no nothing. It’s like they all just...disappeared.”

“Or got eaten by demons,” Hiroki offers darkly.

Just as the duo is about to leave, a voice calls from the end of the hall, “Hey, hey you kids! C’mon down here!”

Mikoto and Hiroki look at each other cautiously and slowly approach the cell where the voice came from, the judoka with fists raised, Hiroki clutching two wrenches. 

The occupant comes into view; a figure in all black, breathing heavily through a gas mask. “Oi, you two wanna get me outta here? Oh, oh hey,” Mad Gasser points at Mikoto, “I know you! You were with that girly!”

“Um...yeah. Er, hold on a second,” Mikoto pulls out their walkie, “H-hey, you guys there?”

* * *

The Mad Gasser lifts a hand upon seeing Shio, “Oi, girly, good to see ya again. Mind explaining to these fellas that I’m alright?”

The woman crosses her arms, “How did you get in there?”

“The coppers! They snagged me a couple days ago for some reason. Arseholes.”

Shio raises an eyebrow, “Not everyone’s a fan of you tattling on others?”

Even though their face is covered by a mask, the group is able to feel a new level of indignity from the demon, “What, tattling? Come on luv, my stuff’s better than simply getting others in trouble. It’s for manipulation, te change the hands of territories, allegiances, that stuff.”

“ _ Right. _ Well then, we rescued you, you wanna give me something good then? I did wanna run something by you.” Shio says.

“Of course! Is it it about Succubi? I bet it’s-”

“I wanna know everything about the Fiends.”

The demon informant freezes mid-sentence and looks at her, “...now, girly, is that really a path you wanna take? I saw you beat the Matador, sure, but the Fiends are no joke. There’s only one o’ each for a damn good reason.” 

Shio’s dark eyes stare determinedly into the Mad Gasser’s, “I wanna know. If I’m going to accomplish my mission, I’m going to need the most powerful demons on my side. I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t get them to fight for me.”

They sigh. “Well, y’see, the Fiends are the most fearsome race of creatures. There’re...nine of them, I believe. They’re various incarnations of death; seeing any one of them would likely spell your end, if you were a normal mortal.”

Yuki pipes up, “Are you saying we aren’t normal?”

“Oh, well, no, of course not, you got that there potential,” the Mad Gasser taps the eyes on their mask for emphasis, “That gives you strength to survive around demons, more than most normal buggers. Although the Fiends would still make short work of you if you weren’t too careful. Ya got te understand, these demons, they’re the cream of the crop. They delight in violence, the macabre, and the Matador is the most tame of them all. They’re not te be taken lightly.” The demon slips past the group and shuffles down the corridor. “That’s all you get for free, kids.”

“How do I find them?” Shio calls after them.

The Mad Gasser looks back over their shoulder and pauses, “You won’t. They’ll find you. With both the lust for power you’re showing, and already having the Matador with you, they’ll come eventually, demanding duels to the death.” They look forward again and keep walking, “I wouldn’t wanna be you, girly.”

* * *

“Shio,” Yuki says as they climb the flights of stairs towards the top level, “You are going to be careful, right? You do remember that the fight with that first Fiend nearly ended with you skewered?”

The woman nods confidently, “Of course. I am itching to see what they’re made of, I’ll admit, though I more wanted to get more info about them just to be cautious. To be honest, Matador already told me most of that, but I wanted to get a second confirmation.” Her hand moves down subconsciously to grip her staff on her belt, “I know they’ll come for me at some point, I think it’s inevitable no matter what I do. So, I’m going to be ready. I won’t scare you all like that again; we’ll do it all together.”

At the top landing, the four get into a huddle, distributing some elixirs so that everyone has one in case Shio’s not able to hand one off. “So what’s our plan of attack?” Hiroki inquires.

“We attack.” Shio states simply, not even smiling.

“...honestly, I’m for that.” Yuki admits. “Easy. And no spinning required.”

Hiroki chuckles, while Mikoto sighs, “C’mon, we had a higher kill count than Shio. Shio! That was a good strat.”

“Alright, good talk people, let’s move.”

The four storm the conference room, their entrance causing the Principality to turn and raise its staff, “Hark, trespassers-what do you seek in my benevolent domain?”

“...information?” Shio offers hopefully.

The angel scoffs, “Humans are not deserving of such a thing; they instead deserve annihilation for their great sins, as this world has already seen. I shall smite thee! Prepare for punishment!” They release a gust of wind that sends papers and small instruments flying around the room, causing general chaos.

The group gets to work, electing to fire elemental spells at the angel, as the wind is strong enough to kill any attempt to get closer to it. Although, the humans are able to anchor themselves with their Personas, making the fight mostly an exchange of elements across the room, whittling the angel down as it frustratingly tries to change up its tactics to no avail. Mini tornadoes, flinging pens as knives, throwing the entire conference table, all fail to make dents in the team. Eventually the Principality gives up with the wind and tries to swoop in and attack them with its staff, and this only results in Suijin go in for a dual stab with its arm-blades, which with the Principality’s already low health, kills it cleanly. 

The four don’t take the time to celebrate, instead opting to head into the police chief’s office. The opposite wall is glass and looks out onto the ruined Maebashi, but is otherwise unremarkable. The rest of the room proves to be the same as the floors below; there’s nothing to find about the truth of the world.

Shio plops down in the spinning chair that sits at the chief’s desk, “Shit, I really thought we’d find something.” She glances at the monitor sitting on the old wood and draws a smiley face in the dust on it. 

Yuki crouches beside Shio’s chair, and opens one of the cabinets on it, revealing the monitor’s tower. “...You thinking what I’m thinking?”

* * *

“We could go look for a car now, but considering how today went...I think it might be better to call it a day and head home, come back Thursday or something, since that’s our normal excursion day anyway,” Shio says, already thinking about collapsing into her bed. 

The others agree, and leave the station, supporting a computer tower along with a bag filled with bullet-proof vests, and a couple pistols, just in case.

* * *

Situated outside the dance studio on the Ashen side lies an entryway into the Velvet Room, which Shio elects to take before heading back inside with the others.

Upon entering she’s met with a customary nod from Igor, “Welcome. It seems you faced a great ordeal today, but persevered nonetheless. Your progress is quite admirable.”

“Oh it was nothing,” she shrugs, “Just have to adapt to the situations as they come. Where’s Agatha?”

“My apprentice’s brother is visiting her; he arrived not too long ago and the two took that path,” he indicates one to his left, “They are most likely still down that way.”

“My thanks, Igor-san.” Shio jogs a bit down the path, curious to meet another of Agatha’s siblings. She slows down as she begins to hear a familiar voice.

“She’s been really great, I feel so privileged for her to be my g-” as Shio rounds a corner, the sight of Agatha sitting on a bench with a man who is most definitely related to her comes into view. Agatha gasps as she notices her guest and darts up, “Shio-san!!” Before Shio can react, her would-be sister is hugging her. 

The green-haired woman chuckles and pats her head, “Hey, it’s only been a couple days, calm down.” The Fool glances up at the now-standing individual in front of her. “Care to introduce me?”

Agatha’s eyes widen and she breaks away, “Oh yes of course!” She quickly steps back a couple times, and ends up stepping on her brother’s foot quite hard.

“Ouch!” The man lifts his leg and grabs at it with both hands, hopping back and forth on the uninjured foot for balance. He’s dressed as a bellboy with the same stylings as the room he’s assigned to, with a top that’s dark navy with sky stripes on its arms, and dark pants. The ends of his sleeves are accented with yellow fastenings, matching both some buttons on the front of his suit and his golden eyes. Topping his head is a small hat a hotel worker would wear, and underneath is a head of short silvery-blonde hair that’s combed back. His expression beforehand was one of serenity and calm; now it is one of pain and embarrassment.

“Ohmygosh sorry Theo!” Agatha bites her lip as she watches her brother awkwardly hop closer to the bench the two were sitting at before and sit down, nursing his foot. 

“It is alright, Agatha-I had forgotten what great strength you had within you.” He takes a deep breath and returns to a calm expression, letting go of his shoe and turning to Shio, “My apologies for not getting to greet you sooner. My name is Theodore, but you may refer to me as Theo, if you wish. My sister speaks quite highly of you.”

Shio bows, “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Shio Kiyomizu.”

After getting acquainted, the three spend time walking through the gardens, admiring the flora, and also planting some new elixir plants in barren patches of soil. Once they finish a visit to Nameless, Theodore produces a pocket watch and checks the time, “I apologize, sister and Shio, but it appears I must depart soon. Important duties to attend to.”

The Wild Card twists to face the man, “Theodore, may I ask you something, before you go?” 

“Of course, I love questions.”

“...What was...your guest like? My predecessor.” 

This is clearly not the type of question Theodore was expecting; his eyes widen and he gasps briefly, before attempting to seem unperturbed. He still hesitates, and then opens his mouth, “I apologize, it is hard to think about her, even all these years later. Not only was she a remarkable guest, she was...a friend, as you may put it. She, my sister, and I had many fun times together as she showed us your world.” He wipes a single tear away. “At the end of her journey, she...gave her life, to protect everyone else she cared about. And the rest of humanity.”

Shio pales, “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to dredge up these feelings-”

Theodore holds a hand up, “It is quite alright, it is only natural to be curious, especially in your current role.”

The current guest of the Velvet Room looks at Agatha, who’s now got a hand behind her back and is looking sorrowful, “...is...is that normal…? The end of a journey resulting in-”

“No! No no, well...no, she is...the only guest I am aware of to have taken on such a burden.” The bellboy adjusts his tie awkwardly, “Even now, she works to save every life in your world from meeting a cruel end.”

“Gosh...I can’t imagine that…” Shio sighs, “But if she was that amazing, I’m sure you and her sister did a lot to help her get her to that place.”

Agatha’s brother stands still for a moment before his eyes water, “Shio-san, that is an incredible compliment, thank you ever so much.” He bows deeply, and then dries his eyes again. “It was absolutely splendid to meet you, and I hope our paths cross in the future.”

* * *

“Hm, I think I’ll try this one out,” Shio says, indicating for Agatha to fuse a Setanta. The girl obliges, with the two cards representing the fusion nominees floating up into the air and whirring together. As the act occurs though, there’s a sudden spark of electricity and smoke around them, which requires everyone to shield their eyes. 

Once the dust settles, Shio is surprised and annoyed to find that a zombie cop is floating where her new Setanta should be. “Hey, what gives?”

“Oh, darn,” Agatha says, clutching her tome tightly, “That’s my first accident. They’re random and can happen sometimes. They’re really rare, but bound to happen on occasion for every guest.”

Shio looks at the undead policeman. “...Fuck no, I’m not having you on my team.” She immediately dismisses the cop from her mind. “Bye bitch.”

Igor, sitting nearby, narrows his eyes at Shio’s vulgarity, his smile lessening. 

Once Shio’s done, she waves goodbye to the residents and heads out, leaving a confused Agatha and a worried Igor.

“Master, what does ‘bitch’ mean?”

Igor lowers his head into his hands.  _ “This guest is...most unbecoming, at times.” _

* * *

Tossing her bag into a corner, Shio drops herself back onto her bed and yawns loudly.

“This was a wild ass day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in the last two months, work, since it's retail, got to be really bad, and it didn't help that...Yakuza came out and I spent a lot of time playing that. Anyway, no promises on a schedule. Every chapter I get more excited as we get further in, but...god, 2020 was a fucking thing. 
> 
> Rising Tide is meant to be about looking at the sins of the past; in my view, Shio understanding what it means to be a Velvet Room guest is important, in that she has to be ready to take on the burden of it. We haven't seen the last of Theodore, nor Margaret. 
> 
> Shio...is a bad influence.
> 
> Is Scooby Doo that popular in Japan? No idea  
> but you see an opportunity for a joke and you TAKE IT
> 
> So in this canon, Minako had both Theo and Elizabeth as assistants to Igor. I like Elizabeth more, but it would've felt awkward to make Theo exist but then not have been anyone's assistant.  
> And yes...Minako was in this timeline. *thinking emoji*
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)   
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito   
> Justice-Misaki Hasegawa  
> Hermit-Akari Kiyomizu  
> Fortune-Kotori Watanabe (Swim Team)  
> Strength-Hiroki Taira  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima   
> Temperance-Mikoto Goda  
> Star-Agatha


	20. The Knight Machine

**Wednesday, May 27th, 2020**

Faced with spending a couple of hours with Misaki Hasegawa later, Shio stands in her room, paralyzed with indecision.

“OK, I could go for nice and pull out a button-down...or even a dress...no, that’s definitely too much,” she tosses her one black dress back on her bed, “we’re doing manual labor...I should be practical, not go all out…” 

She combs through her wardrobe, trying to find something in either her dresser or suitcase that’ll leave an impression on her senpai. After a few minutes, she settles for a light-denim button-up that’s casual yet practical over a simple white tee, and contrasted with a darker pair of jeans. 

In the bathroom, Shio bites her lip as she glances at her face, and runs a hand through her hair, wincing when she tugs on a knot. “Ow…” As she attempts to unravel it, she realizes it’s been a few days since her mane received a thorough wash. The woman hops in the shower and gives her locks a good cleansing and detangling: She emerges from the bathroom later with her previously limp mop now full and proper.

“Oh ho,” Akari says, looking her niece up and down as she emerges from her room, “You got a hot date?”

“What?!” Shio blushes immediately, “No! It’s a volunteer thing…” she trails off, and then admits, “...this girl is gonna be there, though. And...it’s just us...”

“Ohhh,” Akari says knowingly, “I see, it is a date-”

“It isn’t!” A crimson Shio quickly goes to the door, “I’llseeyoulaterbye!”

* * *

On her way to Omuro Park, Shio begins to fight herself.

“ _ God, I’m so pathetic. I really need to just, reset, think about this: do I actually like this girl? _ ”

“ _ Uh, that’s a definite yes hon, _ ” Leanan Sidhe chuckles, “ _ She’s almost all you think about, besides your little demon escapades _ .”

“ _ I’ve talked to her like, seven times! I don’t even know what she’s majoring in, what she does in her spare time. Hell do I even know her at all? She’s...late to things...she’s got a good fashion sense....I know jack shit. _ ”

She resolves to do her best to treat the other woman normally, get to know her, before she even thinks about her that way again.

“Heeeey! Kiyomizu-chan!” 

Shio turns, and simply seeing Misaki Hasegawa causes any hesitation in her brain to be thrown out the window.

Today, the vice president is wearing her overalls again, though the top half is down and hangs around her waist, while her top is a brown shirt that matches the boots on her feet. Shio notes her near-black roots are starting to show, and the fuzz on the side of her head is getting longer. “ _ Stay cool, Kiyomizu. Stay cool. _ ”

“Good morning, Hasegawa-senpai,” Shio’s bow is short.

“C’mon, I told you, don’t bother calling me that, just Misaki will be fine.” She unshoulders her backpack and retrieves some gloves and trash bags from inside, “Ready to get to work, girl?”

The two get to work, starting in one section of the park and collecting any litter they encounter. Shio manages to ask about Misaki; she’s focusing on a number of classes related to earth and natural sciences, though she can’t commit to a specific major yet, as there are too many she’s interested in. The punk-haired lady also works as a research assistant twice a week at a lab, has a cat named Goto, and a fondness for takoyaki.

After a couple hours, Misaki elects that they’ve labored enough and suggests they rest a bit before calling it a day. They find a nearby bench and settle themselves down, checking their phones and polishing off the last of their water bottles. The green-haired woman stares pointedly at a black butterfly sipping nectar from a nearby flowery shrub, trying not to take furtive glances at the other woman.

They sit in silence for a couple minutes, until Misaki stows her mobile and interrupts the peace, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you-what dye do you use for your hair? The roots are always so nice too, you must touch them up every day. It’s impressive.”

“O-oh, I um...I don’t. It’s natural,” Shio admits, unconsciously scratching the back of her neck, “As long as I’ve been alive, it’s been this color. Er, well, it was a few shades lighter as a kid. Always green though.”

“Whoa, really?!” Before the woman can react, her crush has scooted a bit closer and is fixated on her locks, “That’s really cool! I’m so jealous, I’ve had to take such care of mine since I started dying it...which I’ve been doing for...like, eight years, haha. Yours looks so healthy and beautiful!”

Since leaving the apartment, Shio’s had Matador equipped, knowing that he’s been a good anchor for her to remain cool under pressure. He’s gotten her out of most recent situations: when she was late for class last week, that time she accidentally ate Akari’s leftovers, and really anything that’s remotely awkward.

Getting called beautiful by Misaki? That’s a bit beyond his abilities, though. 

Her cheeks turn a shade of scarlet, “Th-thanks. Yours is nice too. I wish I could pull that off.”

“You probably could! But I think sticking with the green is good for you. It just suits you.” Misaki shrugs. Shio thinks she could die right now. 

“Yeah, I’m a cool color kind of person. Pretty sure my mom never dressed me in red growing up, I’d have looked like I was cosplaying for christmas or something,” she jokes. 

Misaki’s laughter sends fuzzy feelings through Shio’s body. “Haha. Did you get your hair from her? Or your dad?”

Shio screws up her face in confusion, “Uh, neither? My mom doesn’t dye her hair...I’m, pretty sure my dad didn’t.” For the umpteenth time, she finds her fingers caressing her locket. She hesitates, her expression turning a bit solemn, before gently unclasping it from her neck and clicking it open. It takes all of Shio’s willpower to keep her hands from shaking as she wordlessly holds her most cherished possession out to Misaki. “Proof for ya.”

The woman’s eyes dart between Shio’s face and the offering, which she gently takes and peers at. “Oh wow, you weren’t kidding...you two are pretty cute.”

“Yeah...he was the best.” Shio takes her necklace back and locks it back in around herself, “ _ Why did I show her? I haven’t shown anyone...ever. _ ”

Misaki smiles reassuringly, “I bet he was. Thanks for showing me.” 

The two refrain from getting too personal again for the rest of their time together, and soon enough decide to part ways.

“Oh!” Misaki puts a fist to her palm, “I forgot! We should take a pic, for y’know, proof of our good deeds for the day.” She whips her phone out and puts an arm around Shio’s shoulder, pulling her in for a selfie. “Say ‘Earth!’” Shio barely has time to put a smile on before Misaki snaps the photo. 

* * *

That night, Shio lingers in front of the bathroom mirror, tugging at a lock of her leaf-green locks. “Mom always said that the doctors told her you were some weird genetic mutation. Well, if I land a date because of you, I’ll never feel awkward about you again. 

Her phone buzzes from her pocket, and upon retrieval reveals that she has a new text.

**Misaki:** Hey! Forgot to send u the pic. Thanks again for today, had fun!!

In the picture, Misaki is smiling brightly, her grin stretching from ear to ear. She’s playfully winking and holding up a peace sign. Meanwhile, Shio looks slightly caught off-guard, her eyes a bit wider than she’d like, and her grin is small, cheeks dusted pink.

“Goddammit.”

**Thursday, May 28th, 2020**

“Our plan for today is twofold,” the leader states, pacing back and forth in front of her friends, “We’re securing a vehicle for our future endeavors here in the AR, and Ryushi’s scanner needs to be put back up, since otherwise we’re flying blind as to where the next AD will show up.”

“Shio and I are on the car team; I need to make sure it’s something fixable, and...I’d like her nearby if we meet any demons,” Hiroki adds the last bit with a joking tone, though everyone knows he’s serious.

“I’ll help Ryushi with the antenna,” Yuki offers, “I’ve got a limited understanding of the tech he’s using. Also, I’ve seen enough cops this week.”

“So that leaves you with the most important job, Mikoto,” Shio says brightly, handing them the two empty gas cans Hiroki brought to the studio a couple days ago, “siphoning for gas!”

“Ah, sounds lovely.”

* * *

The pair find the garage easily enough, about twenty minutes’ walk from the dance studio. The building itself is innocuous from other garages, save there being a metal shutter over the normal exit, and the Maebashi Police’s logo being emblazoned on said shutter. 

“Well, that’s an obstacle. How do you wanna-” Hiroki’s question is cut off from a summoning sound from behind them, and as they turn they catch sight of an imposing red demon barreling forward and through the shutter. Shio shrugs, “Look, he asked to do it, I let him.”

Inside are rows upon rows of police cruisers that haven’t seen the light of day in twenty years. Still, the station’s also been isolated from the outside world, and most of the cars that Hiroki pops the trunk of are fixable, according to him.

“We could hotwire one, but if we already have the keys...I’d rather just stick with those, in case I’m not around a day and whoever else is here isn’t able to get it started.” They look disappointed at this, though. “I’ve always wanted to just claim a car and start it myself and go hog wild. Maybe another day.”

A couple floors up, they finally come across a couple vans that look to be for transporting prisoners, and could house at least all five of them and a couple others. Inside the one their key goes to, there are even some extra vests and first aid kits as well, and handcuffs (“Ah good, we can take prisoners”) that Shio throws into a nearby trash can (“Oh come on.”).

After their perusal, Hiroki pops the hood and whistles, “Well, this is...better than I hoped. This thing might be driveable right now, though I’d still like to upgrade it. The engine is over twenty years old, and it’s had a fair amount of use. Still, better than every other one we’ve checked. Guess we got lucky with this key.”

Hiroki glances at Shio, “Can you drive?”

“I’m good at Mario Kart.”

“So no then.”

They climb into the front two seats. Shio holds in a breath as Hiroki twists the key into the ignition. The engine stalls the first two attempts, and then sputters to life; the Strength cracks their knuckles, “I’ve been waiting for this.”

They pull the stick back and push down on the gas. There’s some whining and more sputtering, but eventually they drive smoothly out of the garage (after Shio has Oni fully remove the metal shutter, lest their new van suffer some battle scars).

As Hiroki pulls onto the studio’s street, Shio catches sight of a couple demons scaling the walls of their building. “Ryushi seems to be attracting attention.” They screech to a stop outside and Shio jumps out, summoning Suijin with her. She glances up; she hasn’t tried jumping up four stories before, but she figures there’s a first time for everything. 

The Fool rubs her hands together and bends her knees before leaping up, rocketing up until she is just able to reach the edge of the top roof. She gasps and holds on, needing a brief moment of respite before getting to lock in with her Persona gain. On either side of her, the scaling Nekomatas glance at her curiously.

“Oh, uh, hey guys. Nice to er, hang out with y’all.” Suijin then again links with her, and she gets the strength to climb over and get onto the roof, to see-

Ryushi, chatting amicably with a Sandman as he works on his antenna.

“...Um. Hey.” 

The young man looks up at her and waves, “Hey. Come join us shoot the shit.”

Shio pauses, the two Nekomatas reaching the top and perching cat-like on the edge and peering curiously at the scene in front of them with the woman. 

“He came up here and got curious about what I was doing. I’m giving him an intro to transmission.”

The little red demon dances back and forth on the spot, speaking in his trademark cackle, “Hehe, I never knew humans were so interesting! I thought they were all just idiots, hehe.”

The felines settle themselves down nearby and relax, which draws an eyebrow from Shio. There’s a noise behind her and in turning she witnesses a Suzaku and Phoenix flapping towards them and perching on the roof’s edge. More demons arrive in turn, and soon there are a couple dozen lounging around: Hiroki bursts out from the stairwell and nearly crashes into Orobas and spends the next minute profoundly apologizing. Enough of them come forward and inquire about Ryushi’s work that he puts his tools down and begins to focus on doing that instead. 

“This is surreal,” Shio murmurs, looking at the bonafide demon club that’s popped up. A lot of them look keep glancing at her, some of the weaker ones with faces of fear, other stronger ones smirking, and Shio swears that the Nekomatas are...winking at her. “Why are all of you here?”

She’s more speaking rhetorically to herself, but her question is still answered anyway, by Matador making himself appear and chuckling, “They’ve caught wind of your exploits, girl. They now fear you, respect you, adore you.” 

A Slime oozes up to the Knight and gurgles as it speaks, “Oo, are we not permitted here, miss Demoness?”

“‘Demoness’ Uh, I’m not a demon, but...as long as no one makes trouble, yeah, sure.” The Slime seems pleased and sludges away, while the Fiend at her side laughs. 

“It seems the population here has seen fit to dub you as a demon yourself, considering your track record against them.” 

Shio shrugs, “I flub up at times too. I wouldn’t have survived without my friends.”

One of the Nekomatas slinks over and suggestively puts an arm around her, purring “Mmmm, but you have such powerrrrr…” She rubs her head against Shio’s arm, who reddens and gently separates herself from the cat.

“Sorry, I’m uh...I’m taken,” she lies. “ _ Well, my heart is, anyway. _ ” The demon pouts at the loss of contact, but accepts it and settles back down with her friend. 

“Demons are drawn to those that exude dominance. You killed that angel, who was in charge of this part of the city. As you venture into other territories, the demons will be hostile again. As for here, though...I’d say they’ll all follow you, now.” Matador dismisses himself, leaving Shio to contemplate her new fame amongst demonkind.

* * *

By the end of the day, Shio’s sure fifty or so demons have begun to hang around the ruined dance studio’s building. Around eight, she collapses into a folding chair, feeling like she’s done more socializing today than any other in her life.

Hiroki plops into another chair beside her, their hands and face covered in grease. “Well, she’s all souped up and ready. And I’ve gotta say, Yuki did an impeccable paint job on it. I really wasn’t looking forward to riding around in something that said ‘police’ on it.”

The Death enters the studio with a similarly-tired look to the others, and gives a weak thumbs-up, “The system is back up and running. If there’s an AD anywhere in the greater Maebashi area, we’ll find it.”

The three rest for a few more minutes before Hiroki escorts them down the street a bit to a building that has a garage, and inside Mikoto and Yuki are admiring their handiwork. Yuki smiles at their approach and waves them over, “Hey! I thought we should ride in style.”

The car is now a spring green, the coat going all the way around. Sky blue accents adorn the edges, and a large ‘K’ is emblazoned on either side as well as the hood. Shio crosses her arms and nods, “Oh nice, I like this.”

“Whaddya say we go out for a quick ride, see how it goes? Shouldn’t get any attacks if we stay in the local area.” Hiroki thumps the car twice for good measure, “C’mon, let me show my baby off.”

A few demons gather on the street and watch as they pull out of the garage and head down the street, some cheering as they go on. 

While Hiroki and Yuki sit in front, Mikoto, Shio and Ryushi hang in the back. “Those demons didn’t let me work for an hour, kept bothering me with questions. I mean, it was actually really cool and bizarre.”

“I feel like this world throws me for a loop every time I come here,” Shio relaxes back into her seat and looks out the window at the abandoned buildings they pass by, “Every time, I get confronted with something new. The living with demons inside my head is enough already, to be honest.”

“How many do you actually have up there?” Hiroki calls from the driver’s seat as he turns a corner, 

Shio scratches her neck, “Uh, like eight. But I’ve got another twenty or so back...back...”

Everyone looks at her expectantly; Hiroki’s eyes bore into her from the rearview mirror, though they keep bouncing back to the road.

“So? Where _ do _ you keep them? And where do you get those new ones? You’ve shown up with dudes we’ve never seen in the wild.” Mikoto’s tone isn’t accusatory, though there is an edge of unsureness. “I mean, I assume it’s cool. It’s just weird. I thought we made it clear that you can _ talk  _ to us.”

Shio’s face turns forlorn as she looks all of them in the eye and sighs, “It’s not bad. It’s just, I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s some...chosen one stuff, or something.” 

She takes a breath, “I go into a greenhouse that I’ve seen in my dreams and fuse demons together from a guy with a nose that’s a foot-long and a girl who’s decided I’m her older sister. Oh, also the greenhouse is actually more blue.”

…

…

“OK, sure, now the actual truth.” Ryushi says plainly.

* * *

After failing to convince her friends of the truth, Shio gives up. Or, rather, gives up convincing them with her words.

As they pull back onto their street, Shio sees the normal Velvet Room entrance she uses on this side, and it feels more inviting than normal. Once they’re parked, Shio gestures for everyone to follow her. As they reach the door, she puts a hand on the knob and turns to look at them all, her expression serious. “I dunno if I’m breaking some rule by doing this.”

Yuki now looks greatly concerned, “Shio, hon, I think all those demons are getting to your head. There’s nothing there.”

“The mime gig looks like it’s going well though,” Hiroki laughs.

“Alright.” Shio focuses, tightening her grip, and the door shimmers into existence for the others, whose mouths hang open.

“Told ya.”

* * *

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” Igor’s beaming smile welcomes the five into the greenhouse, and he bows his head, “It has been some time since one of our guests brought others into our midst. Please, make yourselves at home.”

“SHIO!” Agatha jumps from her seat and launches herself at her guest, wrapping her arms around her middle. 

Everyone looks from Igor to Agatha, still aghast from the appearing door. Shio shrugs at them all, “Not my fault you guys wouldn’t believe me.”

Agatha breaks away and her face darts between all the new people in front of her. “Ohmygosh, So many new people!” She enthusiastically switches between bowing and shaking their hands, to the bemusement of Shio.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Yuki says, giving the younger girl an encouraging smile as she takes her hand.

Everyone introduces themselves, and the group gets a tour of the place between mind and matter, courtesy of an energetic Agatha.

“Hang on, should we worry about the time? It was like, 8:30 when we came in here. I kinda have a test tomorrow-” Ryushi begins, before he’s interrupted.

“Time doesn’t pass her like it does in your world. Once you emerge back, only a second will have passed. If anyone was watching you out there, they’d simply see you stand there for a moment before acting again,” Agatha states matter-of-factly, “This place doesn’t exist as a physical plane, it’s nestled in the places between the mental and the physical. And it’s heavily shaped by her heart and mind.”

At the end, Agatha suddenly gasps, “Oh! Shio, I’ve been meaning to tell you, I think I’m close to getting another of my projects ready for you to use! I just need to experiment a little more, conduct some tests, and we should be good!”

Shio smiles, “Any hints?”

The assistant shakes her head, “Nope! I think I’ll be done within the next couple days though, so I’ll be all ready soon!”

The group bids their goodbyes to the denizens of the Velvet Room and departs. As they do, Mikoto shakes their head, “That was crazy. I really did not expect that to be the whole...thing behind...your shit.”

“What did you expect? I-” Shio stops, as Yuki and Ryushi have both come to a halt, looking just as bewildered as when they headed into the Velvet Room. “What?”

Yuki points at the Temperance, “You  _ swore _ .” 

Shio facepalms, “Are you both serious right now?”   
  


**Sunday, May 31st, 2020**

Hiroki ends up having a prior engagement, so Shio spends her time at Komeki’s doing a solo training session that mostly involves being more resourceful with her staff and without it. By the end she’s improved her close combat abilities and gotten more used to aiding her own movement with the staff in mind.

The rest of her day is pretty lowkey: She catches up on some reading, both educational and recreational, and works out for a bit. As she settles into bed that night, she finds she’s calm, and hopeful for a restless sleep to get her ready for the week.

Unfortunately for her, someone else has other plans.

* * *

Dreams can be fickle things. Some people are cursed to never recall what their brain does when unconscious; others are forced to relive their worst nightmares every night of their lives, unable to cope with lasting trauma. More commonly, they’re reflections of one’s everyday worries; work, education, social interactions, and these can be negative or positive.

Regardless, some people find that while they can remember everything that happened in one segmented dream, it’s only part way through that they realize they aren’t experiencing true reality, or at least gain control over their actions. This sometimes results in subtle shifts, with the fantasy turning darker, or more surreal, as the one experiencing it shapes it as their own. 

For Shio, in this particular one, her consciousness begins when a large block of hail strikes her on the head. 

In the minutes before, she’d been dozing against a wall, barely aware of anything. The sharp pain from the ice sends her into a state of readiness, and it’s moments after this where she realizes two things. She is definitely in a dream, and it has a familiar, sinister presence.

As she gathers her bearings and gets to her feet, Shio notes that she’s on top of a building, one that’s more than a few stories tall. The roof is littered with chunks of hail, and more are falling every second.

On the other side of the building, a figure stands with their back to her, though it’s hard to tell that they are considering they’re composed of a cloud of ash and wisps of darkness. The ashen enemy glances back at her, and Shio imagines they’re smirking.

“Isn’t it beautiful? The power of the Earth!” The Havoc spreads their arms, and a loud crack of thunder sounds: Shio swears that the hail falling after that is a bit larger than before. “Especially the power of water, the blood of this planet, that which all life draws from-shouldn’t you of all people be able to marvel at it, Shio Kiyomizu?”

“Fuck off. The Earth is beautiful, even in all of its terrible power!  _ But _ that doesn’t mean we celebrate its violence, we avoid it! We’re humans, we struggle and persevere against all odds. We've survived centuries of disasters, and we'll survive you too.”

“Ah, but don’t you believe that humanity has done enough?” The Havoc inquires, letting their arms fall to their sides, “Hasn’t this planet suffered enough at the hands of mankind? I’m simply getting the Earth the revenge it deserves.” They casually approach the Fool before stopping a couple meters away and lowering themselves into a fighting stance, fists raised. 

Shio adopts the same pose, eyes narrowed, “It isn’t the entire human race’s fault, it’s the politicians and corporations bending them away from actual green policies. Anyone could tell you that.” Without waiting for a response, she darts forward and goes for a right hook, which the Havoc effortlessly dodges, and then catches Shio in the cheek with their own punch, sending her back a few paces.

“The evil in  _ all _ men’s hearts is at fault. The majority are ignorant of any consequences to the planet and will act selfishly in most circumstances if it means they avoid immediate pain. Ask anyone, they’d rather hurt tomorrow than today. They’ll defer it as long as they can, even if it makes the pain worse in the end.” They advance and go for another blow that Shio ducks under and uses to her advantage, to grab them around the middle and shove them forward and crash to the ground, her on top. “Oh ho, clever, kiddo.”

Hair whipping around in the wind, Shio begins to wail on the Havoc, landing blow after blow. “Fuck off.” Another. “Humanity is better than your conception of them.” Her fists, dirty with ash, now have raw, bleeding knuckles. The Havoc doesn't make any noises of pain or even discomfort from being pummeled, instead simply having their head move back and forth with each one.

Several punches later, Shio lets her hands fall, her arms limp. Tired from exerting herself, she lets her guard down for the briefest of moments.

“...Is that all, Shio? You’re definitely stronger than a month ago, but it’s nowhere near what you’re capable of.” Before she can react, her adversary throws her off and soon Shio finds herself with her back to the edge of the roof, and one ashen hand clenching her throat. 

“You really do celebrate too early. If you hadn't let your emotions get the best of you, you'd have put together that I was far from incapacitated.” Shio squirms against their iron grip, trying to pry their hand away, "I simply...let you have your fun for the moment. But that's over now. Goodbye, little Knight. I will see you soon." The Havoc throws her over the edge.

As Shio plummets to the ground, she twists her body to get one last look at her killer, who seems to be following their progress to the ground.. She flashes them the bird, and then blacks out as she strikes the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy got y'all a chapter just in time for the holiday.
> 
> Shadows are neat in Persona but the thing is they're just blank faces. In 5 they started to get there, but not enough. Of course Megaten has had demons be very social and be NPCs for awhile. It feels great to have the demons actually get to show themselves off besides just normal demon talk.
> 
> I've been trying to stop making Shio like myself. But then we get to the romance stuff and I'm like "yes, yes, a complete fool. terribly gay. Fufufu"
> 
> Realized that we're still in only the second month of the fic...this is gonna be so long..
> 
> I imagined that the van looked like that third one. https://hips.hearstapps.com/autoweek/assets/s3fs-public/000000_4.jpg?resize=480:*
> 
> Next time, on Persona: Rising Tide...  
> All Hail Breaks Loose
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)   
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito   
> Justice-Misaki Hasegawa  
> Hermit-Akari Kiyomizu  
> Strength-Hiroki Taira  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima   
> Temperance-Mikoto Goda  
> Star-Agatha


	21. All Hail Breaks Loose

**Monday, June 1st, 2020**

It’s only after about twenty minutes in the shower that Shio feels the soreness in her body begin to wear off. Upon waking, it ached in pain, especially her upper back, which she could recall being the point of contact when she crashed down to the street in her dream. Even with her body’s accelerated healing in water, it takes awhile to feel somewhat normal again. 

On her way out the door, she texts furiously:

**Shio:** Had a dream. The next attack is a hailstorm. 

**Shio:** I got a bad feeling from it. Like this is going to be different.

 **Yuki:** Different how?

 **Shio:** idk. Just, worse than before. 

**Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020**

After Akari leaves for work, Shio settles into her seat on the couch with some ice cream and a show she’s been excited for for some time.

The season three premiere of _Love and Demons_ , a drama regarding a woman defending her city from invading hellspawn while also solving crimes both natural and supernatural, has been on Shio’s to-watch list for a while. The first couple of seasons were OK, but the newest one’s promo involved a new character, a female demon, who’s being set up as a possible romantic interest for the protagonist.

“Please please get with her,” Shio watches with rapt attention as the first episode of the third season plays out. 

At the end of the hour-long premiere, Shio’s crestfallen to discover that the new character gets killed off at the end of the episode, and the detective gets back together with her ex from the first season.

“Oh fuck off with that shit,” she mutters, placing her bowl of half-melted ice cream aside and switching the channel. Pretty much everything else she finds turns out to be trash too, so she leaves on the news and starts to clean up as the broadcaster talks.

_“After a peer-reviewed study by most of the world’s climate scientists was published earlier this year claiming that the effects of climate change will be irreversible within a decade, the United Nations committed to a more active, comprehensive plan than their current one. Today, they announced that reformation will be voted on before the end of 2020. The goal is to get active participation from every member nation, including the United States, which withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement late last year.”_

“God, even if we stop them, the world’s gonna die anyway,” Shio says darkly, turning the TV off. “If only I could also deal with shitty politicians like I do demon-summoning terrorists.” She stops herself, “Or if people could just, not ignore the issues.”

**Thursday, June 4th**

As soon as her last class lets out, Shio has everyone assemble at their ‘hideout’ as she’s taken to calling it. Once they all arrive she crosses over with them and immediately heads outside, one task on her mind.

Shio approaches a lounging Jack Frost, “Hey, you. I need your help.”

The Jack Frost bounces up, “Hee-ho, sure sure boss! How can I help ya?”

“I wanna find the demon Mad Gasser, the information broker. Where do they hang out?”

The little ice monster puts a finger to his chin while he rocks on his heels, “Gee, I dunno. But I know who we can ask.” He turns around, “Hey! Weird guy! You know stuff, where can we find the Sad Asser?” Yuki and Hiroki both have to stifle their giggles.

From the alley the Jack Frost called down, a tall, dark demon emerges, wielding gas canisters on its back, and having a gas mask on their face. “Yes, I believe I can answer that.”

Shio shakes her head and pats the Jack Frost on his head, “Go run and have some fun, little guy.”

“Hee-ho, thanks boss!” He marches away, proud of himself. 

The Mad Gasser bows, “How may I be of service, girly?”

* * *

The group settles down in a restaurant nearby, the five humans sitting on one side, the demon alone in the middle on the other, faced directly with Shio.

“So, the demons of this sector have gotten tame.” Shio produces a stack of bundled yen and offers it, “I want a good rundown of every different section of this city, and the demon ruling each one.” 

The Mad Gasser eyes the cash and shakes their head, “First the Fiends, now this? Girly, you really want your run of this city, don’t ya?”

Shio shrugs, “The way I figure, the more demons I fight, the more I get on my side, the stronger I get, and the more likely I am to stop whatever’s threatening my world. If I have to control this entire city, I’ll do it.” She shakes the money for emphasis, “With or without your help.”

The broker seems reluctant to take the payment, which surprises Shio, but they relent and finally accept the wad. “Very well. The warlords of this city are ruthless. It’s one thing to assert yourself here; it’s another to move against them. Principality had become somewhat relaxed given their control has been cemented for nearly a decade now.”

From the depths of their coat they produce a rolled up map of the greater Maebashi area, with red lines drawn around large sections of it. “Now, listen closely. The region you’ve dealt with already, the smallest one, is the one around Gunma University. The other three smaller ones are the closest towns that help comprise the greater urban metropolis: Shibukawa to the north, Takasaki to the west, and Isesaki to the east. And then there’s the whole of Maebashi itself. A major demon has laid claim to each, with a cavalcade of lessers following them.``

“Alright, fair enough. Who runs each?”

“Hold on hold on, I’ll get to that. As soon as you move between territories, the demons will become hostile again. While the rulers of each may not bother to hunt you themselves, their followers are supposed to reject any foreign strength. Which _you_ are the exact definition of.” They point at her, “Once you do stir the hornet’s nest, though, expect more resistance. Killing the Ashen Demons, as you call them, will not bother the warlords; they are random constructs from a higher power and they know not to interfere with them.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold your horses; are you saying you know who creates the ADs?” Hiroki puts their palms on the table and gets in Mad Gasser’s face mask, “Tell us!”

The demon puts their hands up defensively, “Hey, I’m just relaying what I hear through the grapevine. The warlords are scared o’ one thing, and that’s what creates the ADs. They’ve been told not to do anything about them.”

Shio drums her fingers on the table, “Alright, fine, Now, tell me, which of the rulers is the weakest, that we stand to have the best chance against?”

“Shibukawa. The town is ruled by Kurama Tengu, a proud demon who resides in a hospital. Word of Principality’s defeat has already reached Shibukawa, and the demons there are riled up; if you do go there, expect a fight. And with that, I think that is quite enough for the payment you’ve supplied today,” the demon stands, dusting themselves off and pushing the map towards the humans, “Keep it, I’ve got a dozen of ‘em.”

They start to shuffle out of the establishment before looking over their shoulder, “By the way...I can’t smell anything with the mask on...though I can tell that you have the stench of Death upon you. Tread careful, girly.”

* * *

The drive up to Shibukawa takes about half-an-hour: While the outskirts of Maebashi proper are laid out in the same way as the town to the north, the lack of being on the edge of the urban sprawl makes the city feel different. It’s a pleasant change, Shio finds, feeling a tiny bit more like a country-side town without skyscrapers.

They stop by a convenience store (or, the remains of one) and manage to secure some tourist maps of the town to help themselves get some bearings, as none of them have spent much time in Shibukawa before.

As Ryushi is tracing the path they came into town on, the hairs on the back of Shio’s neck stand up; her head darts up and glances around, “Something’s not right.”

In the distance, there’s the thundering of hooves. Ryushi stuffs the map away and everyone stares fixated in the direction of the hooves. Soon, a horseman comes into view, he and his steed tearing a path straight for the Knights. About a dozen meters away, he slows, and the group gets a good look at him.

The horseman wears the garb of the reaper, a tattered black robe that covers all of his body, save the skeletal hands and skull that functions as his head. Atop his skull is a yellow crown, and he also wields a bow and quiver. Perhaps even stranger than himself is his horse, pure-white all around, with eyes littered over its body, spilling onto its legs, and they’re human-shaped with blue irises. They blink unsettlingly, some staring at Shio, others glancing any which-way.

When Shio first encountered Matador, she felt something inside her that told her the demon was different from the others. Stronger, powerful, unique. Now, she knows that to be the quality of the Fiends. And the horseman gives off the same vibe.

“You...you’re one of them.”

“I am the Fiend White Rider!” He declares with triumph, holding his bow over his head and having his horse rear-up on its hind legs. “My presence alone determines victory over all adversaries! YOU,” he suddenly points at Shio, “ARE MY NEXT CONQUEST!”

The horse lands back down and immediately kicks off, galloping straight at the group. The young adults scatter out of the way, though Yuki quickly swings her bat as she jumps backward, catching the front of the horse, which lets out a whinny that sounds more frustrated than painful.

“I really did not expect _this_ to be the welcoming committee,” Shio grumbles, snapping her fingers, “ISORA!”

The purple, manta-like demon forms and lets out a screech, soaring through the air towards the Fiend, who ducks Isora’s venomous bite attack and fires an arrow after the persona, which causes Shio to wince and hold her arm. 

Taking aim, Ryushi throws a couple of his knives out in front of the path that the Rider’s taking. The demon effortlessly deflects them with his bow, then counterattacks the man with a ball of fire that leaves him in dire straits. Shio quickly supplies him with an elixir and then considers their options as she watches Mikoto attempt to cast a sukunda spell on them, only to completely miss.

“How can a debuff spell miss?!” Mikoto cries out in frustration, electing to try and stop the demon by force by summoning Kuebiko right in his path; this doesn’t work out well, and Shio has to run and get them an elixir as well.

“You foolish mortals have no hope of besting me!” The Fiend shoots a volley of arrows in the sky that scatter around, whittling away the health of all the Knights. “I always study my opponents ahead of our bouts-your tactics are all known to me, the White Rider!”

They spend twenty minutes trying to leave a lasting impression on their foe, and only end up missing most of their attacks. 

“Jeez, I thought Matador was fast,” Shio runs through scenario after scenario in her mind, trying to think of something that could possibly trip the Fiend up. “ _Wait...trip…_ ”

The Fool sprints to the car and throws open the back doors, grabbing a coil of rope that Ryushi had stored inside (“C’mon man, rope is so useful for adventuring and shit”) and summoning Suijin right after. She hands the rope to her Persona, “Any way you can fire an arrow with this attached?”

“Do you take me, the ruler of the seas, for a simple god?”

Shio blushes, “Uh...no?”

As the White Rider cackles and attacks Yuki a street away, Shio waves to get Hiroki’s attention. When he catches sight of her, she mouths “Distract him!” 

He nods and runs after the Fiend, “Hey dumbass! Betcha can’t catch me!” They evoke Raijin and hop on their Persona’s back, speeding down the road towards where Shio and Suijin are. The Rider changes his pursuit very quickly, going after the wolf.

The water god quickly attaches their arrow while Shio ties the other end to a nearby fire hydrant. As Suiijn readies her bow and takes aim, an eye on the Rider’s steed catches sight of them off to the side and blinks. 

“NOW!” The arrow’s let loose and flies across the street just behind Raijin, piercing a door and creating a strong tightrope. White Rider approaches the trap-

-and his horse jumps over it.

White Rider looks over his shoulder and laughs, “Ha, your pathetic attempt at tricking me has failed! You can never hope to be-” his speech is cut off from Kuraokami darting out from an alley and plunging his sword directly into the horse, which causes both it and its owner to topple to the ground.

Shio clenches her fist, “Suijin, AQUES!”

A chorus of other voices ring out as Suijin prepares her attack.

“ZIONGA!”

“MAGNUS!” 

“BUFULA!”

“MATARUKAJA!”

The attack enhancement spell spreads across the battlefield as the other Knights run up and unleash their strongest spells on the downed Fiend, culminating together in a bright light and large explosion.

When the dust finally settles, the Rider’s horse is beginning to fade, while the demon himself is struggling to get up, his crown askew. “Hmph, finally bested, and by such a cunning means-I underestimated you, young one. Perhaps you are worthy of what it means to ally yourself with the Fiends.”

The Fool crouches down next to him, her blue eyes glowing with heightened power, “So, will you join my side, Rider? We’re going on some conquests of our own...I’d love to have you with us.”

White Rider fixes his crown and gazes at her with his empty eye-sockets. “You will need me for an absolute victory. Yes, yes, I will join you!” He suddenly leaps up, his horse also getting to its feet, and the Rider lands back on his steed. “I, the first of the Riders, will aid you!” 

As he dissolves into energy that Shio absorbs, Yuki’s eyes widen with horror, “The _first_?!”

* * *

Exhausted from their single fight in Shibukawa, the gang decides to head back for the day, though they take a quick drive through some of the southern parts of the city, to get a layout of the land more entrenched in their heads and keep an eye out for demon hotspots.

“Hey, Ryushi, that move you pulled back there was great, by the way,” Shio commends, turning in her chair to look at the others, “How’d you know to be there?”

He shrugs from the back seat, “Kuraokami suggested it, I just okayed it.”

In the Velvet Room, Shio sits with Agatha and considers her options: She wants to keep Matador and White Rider, though the former is now a bit redundant considering the latter’s presence. 

“Hey, what happens if I dismiss Matador? I don’t lose him forever, right? There is only one of him…”

Agatha opens her mouth, “Well, you can always recall them from the void...but, I...don’t think you can dismiss them at all, actually.” She closes her compendium, “Go ahead and try.”

Shio raises an eyebrow before closing her eyes and focusing, attempting to try and get rid of Matador. “...I can’t...I actually can’t. Nor White Rider...what’s going on?”

Agatha puts a hand to her chin, “The Fiends are very powerful...and they seem to be very attached to you.” She lowers her hand and looks to Igor sitting nearby for answers, “Master, can you provide any information?”

The long-nosed man’s eyes shine, “You are a most unusual guest, getting attached to your recruits like this.” He waves his hand and some cards appear on the small table in front of him, and he flips one over to reveal an image with a ‘XII’ underneath. “The Hanged Man...” Igor holds the card out to Shio, who stands and heads over to him before accepting it. “This card represents many things, and among those are sacrifice, and being caught between opposing forces. This is most intriguing…” He giggles unsettlingly.

“ _God, that’s scary,_ ” Shio thinks. “Well, what about right now? Am I going to be stuck with them forever? They’re powerful, but I’m always fighting more-and-more powerful ones. I can’t keep Matador around forever.”

“Then simply let them go, they will return to you. You have become too dependent on the Matador’s comfort within your own psyche. You may call upon them when needed, the same as any other, but first you must accept that life requires many approaches, not just a single one that works in every instance.” 

Shio sits down across from Igor in the chair she always wakes in, and stares at him, “You’re saying it’s my fault? I have to accept that they won’t be here forever?”

Igor nods, “Each Persona is a part of yourself. It’s the same as if you wanted to forget a bad memory, or move on from a bad habit. The only one stopping you is yourself, though you may be doing so unconsciously. Truly, you are such a curious guest.”

“Hang on, why was I able to dismiss Suijin then? I’ve relied on her a lot, I talk to her way more than any of the others, especially the Fiends. 

Agatha pipes up, “Oh I know this! It’s because Suijin is, at the end of the day, your actual other self. Your other Personas may influence you and still be parts of you, but Suijin is...well, the one who answered your call in the first place. She is as much you as you are her. You two are uniquely bonded; even if you dismissed her and didn’t summon her back, she’d still be with you, deep down. It would just take a lot of effort to reach inside you to pull her out again.”

“Well, alright then.” Shio walks back over to Agatha and plops beside her, and concentrates for a few minutes until she feels the mental lock on Matador lift. “OK, let’s see who we can fuse with my first Fiend.”

When the time comes, Matador appears before her in the blue-energy form that Personas take as they’re about to be fused. He bows, “It has been an honor to serve with you, my lady. I hope that we shall share the lust of fighting alongside one another again someday.”

Shio smiles and nods, “I’m very much looking forward to it.”

**Friday, June 5th, 2020**

The sun’s so bright that Shio and Ryushi have to shield their eyes as they walk across campus. 

“Are you sure it’s not another heat wave?” Ryushi asks, wiping sweat from his brow, “I’d believe that over freaking hail. Why did I wear jeans today?”

“Because you always wear long pants,” the woman remarks, heading toward the nearby community center. “I’m gonna grab a soda, you want one?”

“Mm, I’m alright thanks. I do gotta take a leak, so I’m gonna do that.” He jogs ahead and slips inside the center, where more than a few people are also heading inside to escape the blazing disc in the sky. Others have taken to sitting at the umbrella-shaded tables outside, or are refuging in any other spots of shade they can find, whether they be natural or man-made.

After grabbing her drink, Shio heads back outside and leans against a wall, which is thankfully built just enough to currently be in a couple feet of sweet shadows.

As she’s waiting, the Fool thumbs through her recent messages, looking for something to occupy her attention.

“It has been a few days. Maybe that dream was just a freak one after being so worried about all this.

Shio takes a swig from her drink and hears a series of sharp beeps all around her. She glances up and sees everyone in the vicinity is looking at their phones in confusion. A moment later, her own mobile gives off the same sound, and upon examination reveals that her device has pushed out an alert: Her blood runs cold at the text.

**_“HELLO, PEOPLE OF MAEBASHI. SINCE WE INTRODUCED OURSELVES, OUR MESSAGE HAS BEEN MET WITH SOME SKEPTICISM BY THE CITIZENS OF THIS FAIR CITY. TODAY, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD GIVE YOU ALL A MORE...DIRECT DEMONSTRATION OF OUR INFLUENCE. PLEASE, ENJOY._ **

**_-THE HAVOC.”_ **

Instinctively, Shio looks at the sky, and watches as clouds begin to form out of nowhere, growing rapidly and darkening until they blanket the entire ceiling. In addition, the temperature plummets, until Shio’s shivering slightly as opposed to sweating. Fortunately, after her dream, she had taken to having a hoodie stored in her back, just in case of this situation.

Around her, other students are beginning to panic and retreat inside the center, and those who were already inside cluster at windows and doors to get a look at the new weather.

The hail then starts to fall, in small little pieces that are a centimeter around at most; Shio knows they’ll get much bigger soon enough. She slips on her light-blue hoodie and starts to text everyone when Ryushi breaks through the crowd, panting and flustered, “I’m sorry, I got caught in-” he stops, seeing the newly thundering sky. “Fuck.”

“Guess your pants were a good choice after all.” She slings her backpack back on and takes off in a full sprint away from the center, causing many to turn and stare at her.

“Shio! C’mon, you’re faster than me!” The onlookers look back at Ryushi and follow him as he runs after his friend.

Along the way, the young woman, remembering the last Havoc attack, texts Akari she’s taking shelter. She hopes she doesn’t try to contact her while she’s crossed over.

* * *

_“Scientists are once again dumb-struck as to how the weather conditions changed so quickly, going from a natural sunny day to the coldest day outside of winter that Maebashi has seen in a hundred years. This thunderstorm combined with hail formed out of nowhere, and now the entire city has taken to staying inside._

_The organization known only as The Havoc have claimed responsibility for the event, hijacking the country’s emergency alert system and pushing out a threatening message mere moments before the weather changed. The Ministry of Justice has now assembled a taskforce to investigate the supposed eco-terrorists…”_

The broadcast plays from Shio’s phone as Ryushi triangulates the AD’s position; he explains that there’s a level of interference he hasn’t seen before, so it takes a little bit longer than normal to figure out its location.

“I mean, if everyone’s inside by now, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, right? Hail can’t get...that big, right?” Hiroki brings up hopefully.

Yuki shakes her head, “Did you see how fast those clouds appeared? We can’t trust anything about this being a normal storm.”

“Got a lock; it’s at the Green Dome. That’s right down the river, we should be able to get there pretty quickly with the car.” Ryushi closes his laptop and straps on his protective gear with the rest of them. “There’s no Persona user signal this time, just the AD.”

The group vacates the dance studio: Shio calls after everyone, “I’ll just be a sec.. Meet you at the car!” 

* * *

In the Velvet Room, Shio waves briefly to Igor and heads down to one of her gardening spots, which is full of a few flowering plants. She harvests this location and a couple others to fill up her elixir reserves. As she’s stowing the last one, a breathless Agatha runs up, “Shio! Shio, i-it’s ready!” The girl collapses into her adopted-sister’s arms.

“Hey, hey, you OK?”

“J-just come with me, y-you’ll need this,” the girl straightens and pulls Shio by the hand down a few pathways, until they come upon a very small courtyard. It’s circular, about five feet in diameter, and the stones are sanded down to be very flat and smooth. The air above them twinkles with light, and being near it fills Shio with a level of calm and focus. Agatha leads her into the light and directs her to sit cross-legged on the ground at just the right angle.

The assistant takes a deep breath to get her bearings and speaks, “Now, take your staff and hold it with both hands. Tightly, but not an iron grip. Imagine the entire ocean, the origin of all your Persona’s power, and let it flow through you, into the staff. It will become an extension of Suijin’s influence over your enemies.” 

Shio opens her mouth to ask questions, then figures she should just go with it and closes her eyes. 

“Fighting demons is all about attacking their weaknesses, right? Well, sometimes you may not have the ability to get your Persona to land the proper attack, or they’re off dealing with another demon while you have another come up on you. This is supposed to help deal with that; by instilling your weapon with the power of your Persona, you’ll have more options at your disposal. It’ll be taxing on your own physical health if you do it repeatedly, but the first few uses should be alright.”

Agatha’s words begin to sound farther away as Shio tries to relax, her senses dulling until she’s entirely absorbed in her dream.

She envisions a roaring ocean, tossing and turning with power, ships falling victim to its wrath. Then her view pulls out, to the entire Earth, and the water moves over the land, covering everything, until no land is left at all; just the raging sea. Shio feels her whole heart churn with the anger, the force that water brings to any fight. In her vision, she feels herself become one with the waves; the tide moves with her breath, her thoughts are both serene and wild, and she feels better than she ever has in her life.

Then, she feels that energy moving through herself and out through her hands, empowering the material she’s holding. It shakes in her hands as the ritual continues, and nearly gets thrown out of them until she feels the last vestiges of the power leave her, and the staff calms down. 

Her eyes open and examine her weapon, which looks the same as it did before. “Well...guess it’s time to go test this out.”

* * *

The team clambers into the van, Shio taking the passenger’s seat this time, and peels onto the street. Some of the demons that had made their peace with the Knights cheer from the sidewalk, or at least yell aggressively. 

“Shit’s still weird,” Shio mutters as a Nekomata blows a kiss at her.

The Yamada Green Dome Stadium, a facility mainly used for cycling competitions, was named for its overhead that’s one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Gunma prefecture.

At least, it was.

The harsh sky and large amount of ash in the air makes visibility beyond a couple dozen yards a bit shaky, As the dome comes into view, Hiroki lets out a swear.

The entire roof of the building is collapsed in; upon entering the arena itself, they see that rubble is everywhere, ruining the building that Maebashi is proud of on their side. 

They stop in the parking lot and jog inside, maneuvering through some cluttered hallways with collapsed pieces of the building. In time, they emerge out onto the main attraction. In the center of the stadium is a familiar orb, pulsing, maybe ten meters in size. What causes everyone to suddenly come to a halt is the other foreign presence.

“That wasn’t on the radar…”

About thirty meters up in air, directly above the orb, is a floating figure. At first, Shio believes it to be the Havoc entity she’s seen in her dreams, but upon closer examination (and to her silent relief) she notices a critical difference: They’re wearing armor.

Their suit looks to be skin-tight, though made of heavy, reinforced material, colored a dark, ashy gray. There are four white squares of the material protruding out on the torso, and on their left arm is a gauntlet of some fashion. The suit covers the feet as well, though it’s clear that the clothing has built-in boots.

Most striking is the helmet; large and heavy, with metal rods along the sides and chin that look as if they’re handles to be lifted and reveal the person (or thing, Shio thinks) inside. The eye slots are rectangular and slightly angled, and burn a bright crimson. There’s also a collar made of the same material as the helmet that protects the neck and reaches a bit more than halfway to the wearer’s shoulders. The entirety of their being is emanating ash just like the Havoc and ADs, but much less so, making their figure much less obscured.

Hiroki squints, “That’s not...them, is it?”

“They’re definitely not who I’ve seen in my dreams. They’ve only referred to themselves as ‘we,’ there has to be more than one person in the Havoc,” Shio replies as she steps forward so that she’s between the slowly descending enemy and her teammates. 

“Welcome, Knights! We were afraid you would take your time.” They bow in midair, “We have been looking forward to a true match with you for some time now.” Their voice isn’t the exact same as the one from the threat video, but it does possess the same filtration to it; Shio assumes there’s some mechanism in the helmet doing it.

“You’re not the one I’ve already fought, who are you?”

“We are a thrall of the Havoc, the Origin,” the Havoc points up, “The Chaos that bore Everything.”

“This dude’s wack,” Ryushi mutters.

“I don’t understand, I thought the ADs needed Persona energy to augment their power,” Shio inquires, “Where’s your normal sacrifice?”

The Havoc places both its own arms lovingly on its chest, “What is this pawn then? A simple tool. Once it’s served its purpose in dispatching you, it will join with the newly-born demon, and cement its influence over your world, forever.”

The AD’s limbs emerge from the sphere; the arms and legs are striped magenta and light-purple, and one arm is tightly gripping a very large sword that has a rounded end like a club. Their clothes consist of baggy pants that cover the thighs and end at the knees, darker plating on the chest, and a shawl that extends from above the neck to the ends of their upper arms. Straight, jet-black hair ends a few inches past their shoulders, and at the top of their crown is a fleshy purple growth that has several white horns protruding from it.

The Sui-ki’s eyes glow bright red and its skin takes on the ashy nature of the ADs. The Havoc touches down in front of it and holds their hand out; ash from the air and ground flows toward them, and forms a spear in their hand.

“Come at Us, then.”

Shio doesn’t waste any time and calls on her newest ally. White Rider forms nearby and takes aim at the AD, striking it with an arrow in the arm. The Sui-ki bellows with rage and stomps toward them, taking a wide swipe that just misses Hiroki.

“Plan! I don’t want these two getting near each other and possibly having the sacrifice happen. I’ll take the Havoc, you all have the AD.” Shio calls out, clicking her staff out and approaching

Yuki rolls her eyes, “Shio, we’ve been over this, you can’t go the solo route again. There’s no way you can-” 

“I’m not fighting to win, I’m fighting to stall. I haven’t come close to beating the true Havoc in my dreams, but I couldn’t use a Persona then. I figure this is our best chance to get this done ASAP.” She launches a barrage of attacks at the Havoc member, until the two are locked together in a standstill, struggling against one another. 

“Ohhh, clever girl. Though is it really best to announce your plans right in front of me? I’m not some mindless creation like that thing, you know,” they tilt their head forward and their eye sockets flash, “I’m your worst nightmare.”

The two enemies begin to fight harder, slowly moving away from a clearing where the remaining Knights and the Sui-ki are beginning to have their bout.

“Well, no Shio should make this interesting,” Hiroki muses, taking out his two batons and flicking them on. 

The AD plunges its broadsword into the ground, and causes the whole makeshift arena to be coated in slippery ice; Yuki falls down immediately. “Why is it always ice with these things?”

Kuraokami’s already out and effortlessly sprinting on the ice towards the AD, and clashes swords with it. Ryushi’s other self snorts icy breath and then breaks the lock, throwing a football-style tackle into the AD. 

The four pounce on the collapsed demon, though it quickly rebukes them, sending them flying. Yuki sits up, clutching a wounded head and gritting her teeth, “Alright, my turn.” Haniyasu-Hime telepathically lifts a couple of the huge chunks of concrete and metal that little the stadium, and flings them right at the AD. The first they block but stumble a bit, enough for the second to land a critical hit and knock them right back down again.

They continue, taking any chance they get to unleash their fury on the Sui-ki, which mostly works at first. Then the AD gets mad, and lets out a raging yell, spikes of ice forming all around, a couple nearly piercing Mikoto.

“Oo, you wanna play hardball?” Ryushi flicks his knives out and takes aim, “Let’s go, then.”

Meanwhile Shio and her enemy continue to dance around each other, looking for any opening in the other’s guard. They’ve ended up in a smaller clear space on the other side of a pile of debris, cut off from the others.

“Admit it, you enjoy this; you enjoy being this secret hero, this great demon killer.” The armored figure grabs and holds Shio’s weapon away long enough to plunge their spear into Shio’s side. 

It takes everything in Shio to not scream. She drops her staff and pulls herself away, her side bleeding profusely. “S-suijin, Aqua…”

Her Persona manifests and throws a glob of water, softer than her normal attacks, at her other self; upon being drenched, her wound begins to slowly close up. 

The enemy closely examines the staff now in their hands, “Hm, the workmanship on this impressive...and yet you so just readily gave it up. How careless of you, Fool.”

“Shit. Well, as good of a time as any to test this.” From the ground, she throws her hand out towards her weapon, beads of sweat rolling down her face along with the drips from her Persona’s spell.

“Ha, what, do you want it back? How cute. Well, no, I-” they stop, surprised, feeling their grasp lessen; the staff shakes, and then turns to water in their hands, splashing to the ground. The air around Shio’s hand shimmers until water forms and takes the shape of her staff, which finally solidifies back into her weapon. 

“Holy SHIT that’s cool,” Shio uses her staff to propel herself back to her feet and swipes it at the Havoc’s legs, and with the attack comes a wave that trips them up and sends them crashing to the ground. Shio puts a foot on their torso, panting heavily, and lodges the tip of her staff on their upper chest, “Try anything and you get an Aqua sp-”

The two hear an unearthly scream, and look to where they can see the head of the AD over the wall of rubble; it’s the one making the noise. It continues for a moment before it dissolves just as the rest have.

“Heh...we...we win again…” Shio grabs her enemy and lifts them up until they’re face-to-face. “You lose. Talk, tell me everything about this world.” She also attempts to lift the hinge on their helmet, but finds it’s locked.

Now, her enemy laughs, “Why would We tell you anything? It is far, far too early to let Our tricks slip now. You do not understand Our truth. However, one day, you will. You, and all others, shall come to obey the will of the Havoc, and then die in Our glorious revenge.”

Shio glares into the red slots, close enough now to see the shape of something human behind the glowing scarlet, “I’ll never give in. _We_ will never give in. I don’t care what it takes, I will fucking give my life to destroy you all.”

Something changes about the Havoc with her words; it feels like some barrier broke between them, as if she wasn’t truly speaking to them today until just now. Their voice becomes gleeful and unfiltered...but all the more sinister. “That’s all I want, Shio.”

Inexplicably, Shio hears a familiar voice at the back of her mind as her eyes bore into the Havoc’s. 

**I am thou, thou art I…**

**Thou hast formed a pact…**

**It shall guide thee on thy Journey...**

**Towards restoring that which has been corrupted...**

**Thou shalt be blessed when crafting Personas of the Tower Arcana…**

“ _What the fuck. What the FUCK_.”

“We shall meet again, Wild Card.” The Havoc shoves her away and jets off into the sky, flying away until they’re out of sight.

Shio clenches her fist, “Dammit.” She tries to ignore her feeling of failure and runs over to check on her friends.

* * *

“ _As you can see,_ ” the broadcaster says from the laptop as the timelapse view of Maebashi that day plays, “ _the storm appeared out of nowhere, and faded away within a little under two hours. The hail that fell towards the end was measured as being up to 16 centimeters in size, some of the largest in recorded history.”_

Post-victory, the Knights had elected to take a well-earned break right then-and-there, and had settled into the worn folding chairs they had stored in the studio’s closet. Mikoto stepped out to grab them some food, and returned with bags laden with sodas and instant yakisoba bowls, along with a cheap water heater.

“I didn’t take you as someone to drink soda,” Ryushi remarks, gratefully accepting his drink as Mikoto hands them out.

The judoka shrugs, “Gotta treat myself once in a while.”

“ _A second video has just been posted on the same YouTube channel that the first Havoc video posted, with further threats. Please be advised, the footage contains disturbing content:_

The stream switches to an inlaid video which again contains a still image of ‘Havoc’ graffiti.

_“Good evening, Maebashi._

_Our efforts may have been thwarted again, but this does not set Our plans back one iota. Any doubts of Our power should now have vanished; We are not taking this matter lightly. These are mere skirmishes in our war against mankind._

_Each attack, We gather strength, and soon, We will have enough to stand up against the Knights that plague us. Do not be mistaken; they are your only hope, and we will crush them completely, absolutely. There’s no saving you._

_Our justice will prevail._

_Havoc out.”_

The newscaster returns to the screen, “ _Today’s impromptu storm has caused what early estimates say are_ _¥50M_ _in damages, though there’ve been only three hospitalizations that have been confirmed related to it. The bounty for information related to the Havoc has been increased.”_

The show changes topics, so Ryushi closes the laptop. “Feel like talking about the supernatural evil attacking the city might be more important than anything else, but whatever.”

“So there’s one thing I don’t understand; they clearly know who we are. Why haven’t they attacked us publicly yet?” Mikoto asks, “I mean...I don’t want them to, but...it’d make sense.”

“They one-hundred percent want to draw this out.” Everyone turns to Shio, who’s sitting against the wall and devouring her meal. She slurps up a noodle before continuing, “They enjoy this, they want to toy with us. I could tell when we fought.” Shio sets her bowl down and looks each of them in the eye, “I don’t think they’ll do something that drastic anytime soon, but we can’t rule it out.”

Yuki undoes her ponytail that’s become a bit unruly, “Are...you sure…?”

Shio nods, thinking about the last few words the Havoc member said to her, “More so than anything else right now.”

* * *

The woman lays in bed, playing soft music and considering her day. 

“Suijin, why did I forge a bond with them? It doesn’t make any sense at all. They’re causing destruction. Soon people are going to start dying, and I won’t be able to save them. Why should I get close to them?”

“ _You are gaining an understanding of them as an enemy,_ ” her Persona says, “ _the bond is formed on that; that you both have something you share. In this case, it is...a desire to stop the other._ ”

“Wonderful.” She rolls over and closes her eyes. “I’m not opposed to risking my life...but I wish things were just a bit clearer then they are.” Her fingers trace circles in her sheets, and she pulls the covers over herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, in the last chapter's end notes, I totally forgot about addressing Shio bringing the crew into the Velvet Room. Considering her as a character, I felt like it made sense, and well...maybe it's good that the others know about its existence, considering later events. ;)
> 
> So the other towns aren't really as much a part of Maebashi as places like Roppongi and Shibuya are of Tokyo, but for the purposes of the story we're kinda pretending that is the case to make the territories are easier to define.  
> I did start using Google Earth to reference stuff though. That kinda helps a lot.
> 
> That armor though...
> 
> Fun tidbit: the Havoc's name was taken from this song, which I only know of because it was in the launch trailer for Control. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnSkt6V3qF0
> 
> Hey remember how Suijin's had a bow this whole time and I never have her use it? Yeah I always forget about it. Arm blades are way cooler anyway.
> 
> I flirted with the idea of having the Fiends be ingrained in Shio's psyche for the rest of the story, but that felt like giving her too many demons to work with, so instead the attachment idea came up.
> 
> Fool-Shio Kiyomizu (ARKs)  
> Hierophant-Shintaro Komeki (Martial Arts Expert)  
> Chariot-Yuki Saito  
> Justice-Misaki Hasegawa  
> Hermit-Akari Kiyomizu  
> Strength-Hiroki Taira  
> Death-Ryushi Teshima  
> Temperance-Mikoto Goda  
> Tower-The Havoc  
> Star-Agatha


End file.
